Norway's
decision to extend the presence of U.S. Marines on its soil will worsen
relations with neighboring Russia and could escalate tensions on NATO's northern
flank, the Russian embassy in Oslo told Reuters on Saturday.
Some 330
Marines will be stationed in Norway until the end of 2018, the government said
on Wednesday, doubling the length of what was initially billed as a one-year
trial period.
The deployment
last January to practice winter warfare and cross-country skiing, and to
participate in joint exercises, marked the first foreign troops to be stationed
in the NATO member country since the end of World War Two.
"We
consider that this step contradicts Norwegian policy of not deploying foreign
military bases in the country in times of peace," the Russian embassy
wrote in an statement to Reuters.
It further
"makes Norway (a) not fully predictable partner, can also escalate tension
and lead to destabilization of the situation in the Northern region," it
added.
Norway has
downplayed the significance of the deployment, emphasizing the training element
and denying that the arrival of Marines was an act directed against Russia. The
U.S. troops are stationed some 1,500 km (900 miles) from the Russian border.
"A high
level of regular allied presence creates a stabilizing state of normality in
times of peace, which contributes to deterrence and defence," Norwegian
Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said in a June 21 statement.
The
center-right minority government's decision received broad support from
Norwegian opposition parties, but was criticized by the far left.
"The
deployment ... shows the government being more concerned by being well-liked by
the Americans and in NATO than by conducting responsible security policy,"
Lars Haltbrekken of Norway's Socialist Left Party told public broadcaster NRK.
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