According to Maria Zakharowa, it is high time that Norway listened to Russia's position on the Norwegian proposal to increase the number of American soldiers on its territory. She also stressed that if this did not happen, the Norwegian authorities would cancel many years of efforts to establish and maintain good neighborly relations.
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Tense atmosphere
As reported, Norway asked the US government to increase the number of soldiers from the US Marine Corps to 700. They also want to move them closer to the Russian border. Officially, this only has the purpose of conducting training in winter conditions. Unofficially, however, it is said that this is a reaction to the growing threat from Russia, which has already made, inter alia, annexation of Crimea, which was criticized internationally.
Russia is against it
Earlier, the Russian embassy issued an official communiqué in which it sharply criticized Norway's proposal. Now Maria Zakharova, who is the press spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also commented on it. In her opinion, it is high time for the Norwegian authorities to listen to the Russian position on this matter. Otherwise, neighborly relations which he considers good in recent years will suffer.
An attempt to gain approval in the north of Norway
While Maria Zakharova was criticizing the Norwegian authorities, the Russian ambassador to Norway - Teimuraz Ramashvili - visited the town of Kirkenes. During the meeting with local authorities, he presented Russia's official position on the ferrying of American soldiers. At the same time, he praised the local authorities, incl. for a better understanding of the importance of Norwegian-Russian relations and for excellent cooperation under the Barents Agreement.
