German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is in Norway to get a first-hand look at the NATO operations on Norway's border with Russia.
The minister arrived in the town of Kirkenes on Wednesday, the second day of his trip to Scandinavia, and plans to visit a border post manned by NATO-member forces.
Up until Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, there was a lot of border traffic and visa-free travel in the area. Norway shares a 198-kilometre border with Russia in the far north. The only official crossing point is the Storskog border station.
On the Russian side, the next major city is Murmansk, which, with its surrounding area on the Barents Sea, is home to Russia's strategically important Northern Fleet. It includes nuclear submarines of the Russian armed forces.
Norway is a founding member of NATO, but unlike its neighbour Finland, is not a member of the European Union. Finland has a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia and is also on Pistorius' itinerary.
The German defence minister arrived in Sweden on Tuesday. There he learnt about the Swedish military service model as a possible model for Germany.
