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Source Aftenposten English Web Desk
Denies NATO cover-up
Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen said Wednesday that Norway's new refusal to send special forces to aid NATO in Afghanistan had not been kept secret.
The government repeated its controversial October refusal to send additional forces to Afghanistan when NATO asked again for special forces last month, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports.
"We have not kept this hidden. The letter (from NATO) was regarded as a simple inquiry," Sttrøm-Erichsen told NRK.
"We have chosen not to send special forces to southern Afghanistan this time. We said this in October and we repeated it in November," the defense minister said.
Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg was struck by the government not having made the letter public.
"The government would rather not show that there have in fact been concrete requests from NATO," Solberg said.