NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
© Reuters / Yves HermanNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for mentioning Joseph Stalin in the same breath as Adolf Hitler and ISIS, as "enemies of freedom."

In his address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday Stoltenberg made a case for greater defense spending for NATO countries, stressing that "in an ideal world, we would not need to spend any money on defense, but we do not live in an ideal world."

Hitler could not have been stopped with peaceful protest. Stalin could not have been deterred with words. ISIS could not have been defeated with dialogue.

That is what Stoltenberg said, emphasising NATO's importance for Europe and the US.


People in Norway are "burning with shame" from Stoltenberg's words, as the Red Army played a significant part in the country's liberation from Nazis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, pointing out that Stoltenberg himself is Norwegian.

The leader of the Russian Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, went further calling Stoltenberg "provocateur" and reminded him that the Norwegian government collaborated with Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

"Mr Stoltenberg may have forgotten that his country collaborated with Hitler, helping him oppress Europe and the Soviet Union," Zyuganov said.

In October 1944, the Red Army freed Finnmark, the northernmost county of Norway, from the German forces. Nearly 2,900 Soviet soldiers died in Norway during the conflict.