NATO has two to three years to prepare for conflict with Russia – Norway Army Chief

He stated this in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to Kristoffersen, the time frame he mentioned is shorter than some Western officials estimated during NATO discussions on Russia's military build-up and its ability to restore forces.

"At one point someone said it’ll take 10 years but I think we’re back to less than 10 years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia. It will take some time, which gives us a window now for the next two to three years to rebuild our forces, to rebuild our stocks at the same time as we are supporting Ukraine," Kristoffersen emphasized.

Bloomberg notes that Norway's parliament is expected to approve a plan to nearly double defense spending over the next 12 years. Emphasis will be placed on the capabilities of the naval forces and air defense.

"I see a window now where we can meet the requirements that NATO has agreed on, new command structure, new force structures, the new regional plans. So we can fulfill those plans and those decisions with content in the next years but we need to speed up. We need to do it in two to three years to make sure that we are ready for whatever might happen," said the chief. 

• Norway recently announced that Western countries should allow Ukraine to use their weapons on Russian territory to speed up Kyiv's victory.