The war in Ukraine was the topic when Jens Stoltenberg visited talk show host Fredrik Skavlan, who still appears in prime time among Swedes.

The Minister of Finance's participation at Skavlan & Sverige in the midst of the Norwegian budget chaos was criticized by the opposition.

The episode was released on SVT on Thursday and will be broadcast on NRK. It grills the Finance Minister about the Norwegian war contribution to Ukraine, which has become a hot potato in Sweden.

- It's cash.

Last week, former Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt demanded that Norway give more to Ukraine and compensate for the withdrawn US support.

Norway has benefited enormously from the war-driven increase in energy prices, Bildt wrote in a widely discussed column on the website Project Syndicate. Bildt belongs to the Conservative Party's Swedish sister party The Moderates.

Norway's alleged war profits have been criticized by neighboring countries on several occasions.

Jens Stoltenberg defends the contribution in the episode. The Finance Minister points out that Norway has tripled its military support to Ukraine this year and that the support of 85 billion kroner will be continued.

"It's real money, it's cash, it's financing. And there are few countries that give that much," Stoltenberg says in the television broadcast.

- A good friend

Stoltenberg answers evasively to Skavlan's repeated question about whether Bildt is wrong.

- He is a good friend, says Stoltenberg about Bildt, to laughter in the studio.

- He is right that Norway has strong state finances and that we should therefore also give money to Ukraine, says the Minister of Finance.

Received criticism for Sweden trip

Stoltenberg took vacation days to promote his new book, On My Watch, in several European countries. The book is about his ten years as NATO Secretary General.

On Tuesday, the same day that the Skavlan recording took place, the Labor Party held emergency meetings after broken election campaign promises about free ferries and cancellation of student loans.

Only on Wednesday did Stoltenberg apologize for the budget issue. He defended his absence by saying that the book tour was planned well in advance.

- I think it is noticeable how absent Stoltenberg as Minister of Finance has been in all this chaos, Høyre deputy leader Henrik Asheim told Dagbladet.

- About to change

Stoltenberg warns in the Skavlan episode that the Nordic countries are not sufficiently prepared for the new technology that is now characterizing the Ukraine war. He points out that it is the Ukrainians who must train Norway, among others, in drone warfare.

Drones, autonomous weapon systems and artificial intelligence are now claiming more victims in Ukraine than artillery, Stoltenberg points out.

- It is a combination of the First and Third World Wars at the front in Ukraine, says the former NATO chief.

Gotta talk to the Russians

Stoltenberg emphasizes that only Ukraine can decide what is needed to achieve peace.

- We must talk to the Russians to end the war, he states.

- Do you think Donald Trump will be the architect behind the peace solution? asks Skavlan.

- What I believe is that we live in a time where one can disagree with the United States and Donald Trump on many things, but where one must also recognize that they have the power and military strength that can bring Putin to the negotiating table.