Norwegian PM says Europe on alert about Russian interference

WASHINGTON — Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who calls her country the West’s “eyes and ears” on Russia’s northern border, said Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has put European democracies on alert for future meddling.

“The discussion you’ve had in the United States has, of course, lifted this issue in all European countries,” Solberg said Wednesday in an interview with The Washington Post. “Every country has to deal with it their own way. It’s also about making your political system resilient enough against these types of threats.”

Solberg visited Washington on Wednesday for meetings with President Donald Trump and top administration officials. She described the United States as Norway’s most important ally and came with a mission to strengthen the security and economic partnerships between the two countries. Norway, for instance, purchases much of its military equipment from U.S. manufacturers like Boeing.

The prime minister was careful not to personally criticize Trump, though she acknowledged some of their differences. On climate policy, she said she, along with the leaders of other Nordic nations, urged Trump to reverse his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, of which nearly every country is a party.

Reminded that Trump has publicly doubted the science behind global warming, Solberg said, “We believe that the science is proof.” She added that Norway, despite being a major oil producer and using its fossil fuel reserves to amass extraordinary wealth, is working to curb its carbon and gas emissions. About 50 percent of new cars in Norway are electric vehicles thanks to a government policy exempting electric cars from taxes.

On the subject of Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election to help Trump, Solberg said there was no evidence that Russia had interfered in Norway’s recent elections. She explained that Norwegian elections are often driven by domestic issues and that because there is a consensus on foreign affairs, there is little that another country could gain if it tried to interfere.

“It might be that we are too uninteresting, which, of course, is a blow to the Norwegian esteem,” she quipped.