Norway plans to raise its defence spending to a level equal to 2% of gross domestic product this year, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Thursday.

"The security policy situation is serious. We have to live with a more dangerous and unpredictable Russia, probably for a long time," Stoere said in a statement.

The prime minister on Thursday met with leaders of rival political parties in parliament to discuss the upcoming long-term plan for the country's military.

Norway has until now aimed to reach a NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence by 2026. (Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Louise Breusch Rasmussen)