JRL NEWSWATCH: “More U.S. Marines to train in Norway, closer to Russia” – Reuters
“The United States will more than double the number of Marines stationed in Norway [from 330 to 700] … the Norwegian defence ministry said …. [That and] and moving some of them closer to the border with Russia … triggered a sharp reaction from Moscow, which called the plans ‘clearly unfriendly.’ … Oslo, increasingly concerned about Russia since the [2014] annexation of Crimea … insists the increased U.S. presence is only for training purposes …. The Marines had been scheduled to leave Norway at the end of this year …. an initial contingent arrived in 2017 to train for [winter] fighting …. the first foreign troops stationed in Norway since World War Two. Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide has [said the presence] … did not constitute … a permanent U.S. base … and did not target Russia.”