by WorldTribune Staff, June 25, 2017

Russia has warned Norway that its hosting of a deployment of 330 U.S. Marines could lead to “escalated tensions” in the region.

The Marines arrived in Norway in January and are based near the western city of Trondheim, 900 miles from the Russian border.

Russia said it sees the deployment “as an element of the U.S.-led military preparations that have intensified against the background of the anti-Russian propagandist hysteria.”

Norway announced earlier this month that the U.S. contingent will remain at the Trondheim base until the end of 2018, a year longer than originally planned.

The Russian Embassy in Norway said in a June 24 Facebook page that Norway’s decision to extend the U.S. deployment could “escalate tensions and lead to destabilization of the situation in the northern region.”

“We consider that this step contradicts Norwegian policy of not deploying foreign military bases in the country in times of peace, steps out of line of the traditions of good neighborhood, makes Norway not fully predictable partner,” the Russian embassy’s administrator wrote on Facebook.

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  Russia warns Norway against hosting U.S. Marines, Russia-Norway relations, Russia-U.S. relations, Trondheim, WorldTribune.com