During her weekly briefing on Nov. 19, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took note of the recent deployment of a U.S. nuclear powered attack submarine to Norway. In response to a reporter’s question, she noted that contrary to a Norwegian policy that had been in place since 1949 of allowing no foreign troops to be based on its territory, beginning in 2014, the number of foreign troops in Norway has been growing. “The territory of Norway has been turned into a bridgehead for NATO’s advance to the Arctic,” she said, citing the Norwegian decision to allow US nuclear submarines into the port of Tonsnes, near Tromso.
“This will not defuse tension in Europe, strengthen trust or form a positive agenda for our dialogue,” Zakharova said. “The statements made by Norway’s political authorities about their alleged desire to maintain good relations with Moscow contradict the country’s actual destructive policy of deterrence against Russia. We will have to take this into account when making national security plans.”
