Prime Minister Støre: Russian aircraft violated Norwegian airspace

"The incidents in Norway were less serious than the violations against Estonia, Poland and Romania, both in terms of location and duration. Nevertheless, we take these incidents very seriously," the Norwegian PM says in a statement. 

According to the Støre, two of the incidents occurred over the sea northeast of Vardø. The third occurred over an uninhabited area along the border in Eastern Finnmark. The violations reportedly lasted between one and four minutes.

"We cannot determine whether this was done deliberately or was due to navigational error. Regardless of the cause, this is unacceptable, and we have made this clear to the Russian authorities," says Støre. 

The first incident took place on April 25 when a Russian SU-24 fighter jet flew into Norwegian airspace over the sea areas northeast of Vardø. The aircraft flew through Norwegian airspace for four minutes, the prime minister's office reports.

The second incident took place on July 24 when a Russian L410 Turbolet aircraft flew through Norwegian airspace over an uninhabited area along the border in Eastern Finnmark for three minutes. The third incident happened on August 18 when a SU-33 fighter jet flew through Norwegian airspace over the sea areas northeast of Vardø for one minute. 

The announcement from the prime minister comes as several NATO allies have reported Russian border violations in the Baltic region, in Poland and in Romania.

According to Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, the Norwegian government has addressed Russian authorities over the violations. 

"The Norwegian authorities have dealt with these incidents directly and clearly with the Russian authorities with the aim of reducing the risk of misunderstandings and escalation," he says.

"Even if this was due to navigational error, as a result of Russia operating with too small a margin of error, Russia has a responsibility to act in a manner that avoids misunderstandings and errors. If Russia deliberately challenges the airspace of several countries, this is a very serious matter," he adds.

The statement from the Norwegian government came after the North Atlantic Council in the morning the same day met at the request of Estonia, under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, to consult and strongly condemn Russia’s dangerous violation of Estonian airspace on September 19.

It is not clear why the Norwegian government has withheld information about the incidents. According to Barents Observer Editor Thomas Nilsen it is remarkable that the Government did not inform the public earlier about the violations of Norwegian sovereignty. 

"Støre should explain to us in Eastern Finnmark why he withheld information for months," Nilsen writes in a comment on Bluesky.