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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.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, Gwladys Fouche and Terje
Solsvik; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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