Deputy Secretary Meets With Norwegian Defense Official

Deputy Secretary Meets With Norwegian Defense Official

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2013 - Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter met at the Pentagon yesterday with State Secretary Eirik Thorshaug of Norway's Defense Ministry, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little reported.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, second from left, meets with Eirik Owre Thorshaug, right, Norway's state secretary, a position within the country's Defense Ministry, at the Pentagon, Sept. 3, 2013. DOD photo by Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Hostutle (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

In a statement summarizing the meeting, Little said the two leaders exchanged views about the ongoing violence in Syria.

"Deputy Secretary Carter reiterated the need for the international community to respond to the chemical weapon attacks that claimed innocent lives in Syria," he said. "They agreed on the importance of the norms surrounding the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons, and on the need for close consultation in the days ahead."

Carter and Thorshaug also discussed the positive developments in Afghanistan and NATO's post-2014 future there, Little said. "The two leaders underscored the need for enhanced focus on maintaining interoperability and readiness through training and exercises in the both the near and long term," he added.

The two leaders highlighted the close cooperation between the United States and Norway exemplified by current cooperation on the F-16 and the planned Norwegian procurement of the F-35, the press secretary said, and they also reaffirmed continued cooperation in the Arctic as access and activity in the region increases.