Norwegian Prime Minister: Oslo did not violate its non-deployment principle by hosting US Marines
The Norwegian government continues to follow the policy of non-deployment of foreign military bases on its territory while hosting US Marines on Norway’s west coast. This was stated by the Scandinavian kingdom’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg during an interview with the Norwegian Telegraph Bureau on Sunday.
In January, 285 servicemen of the US Marine Corps arrived in Vaernes Garrison, near the Norwegian city of Trondheim, Nord-Trøndelag County, Central Norway. A bilateral agreement with the Scandinavian country gave the United States an opportunity to conduct joint combat training with the Norwegian soldiers, alternating every six months.
On Wednesday, the Norwegian government announced that the Norwegian-American program will be extended for a year. The Cabinet insists that the kingdom has not violated its obligation to refuse creating military bases for soldiers from abroad on its territory, which it took over in 1949 when joining NATO.
"This is not a base for conducting operations from the territory of Norway. It is just a testing ground for the American military equipment preliminary storage system in case something happens here," Solberg asserts. In her opinion, Russia should not have any reasons for harsh statements about this. "We make the decisions based on what we consider to be reasonable," she added.
Solberg’s words were a reaction to comments from the Russian embassy in Norway on Saturday. Russian diplomats once again insisted that Oslo was contradicting the policy of non-deployment of foreign bases in Norway in peacetime.
The embassy stressed that the actual creation of a US military base in the country leads to the destabilization of the situation in the North and violates the traditions of Norwegian-Russian good-neighborliness. The Russian Foreign Ministry also pointed out that although the US soldiers are formally based in Norway on rotation, in fact, the US practically maintains a continuous military presence on the kingdom’s territory.
Back in 1981, in the mountains of Central Norway near Trondheim, eight warehouses of military equipment with a total area of 62,500 square meters were created. Weapons, armored vehicles and equipment intended for the US Marine Corps have been stored in Norway to provide the US military the capabilities for rapid deployment in the region if necessary.
While training in Norway, American Marines would be able to practice handling this equipment and work out warehouse reactivation scenarios. In addition, they have an opportunity to participate in maneuvers throughout the country, including near the border with the Russian Federation located 1,000 km from Vaernes.