Norway says may deploy troops to Ukraine after peace deal

BRUSSELS

Norway could contribute soldiers to a security force in Ukraine once a peace agreement with Russia is reached, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, one of the leaders gathered for "coalition of the willing" summit in Paris, said on Tuesday.

"What I am saying now is that Norway will contribute to the efforts needed for these security guarantees. We have already had some of our military personnel working on training," Store said, public broadcaster NRK reported, citing the Norwegian News Agency.

He added that Nordic-Baltic countries are taking responsibility for building up a Ukrainian brigade, and Norwegian forces could also be involved in training Ukrainian troops inside Ukraine.

Store's office told NRK that such a deployment, however, would only be considered once "a credible ceasefire" is in place.

"The most important security guarantee is for Ukraine to have a strong defense. That is why the most important thing we can do to secure Ukraine is to contribute to the training and development of its armed forces," the prime minister added.