The USS Gerald R. Ford, the biggest aircraft carrier in the world, made its first-ever port call in Oslo on Wednesday as part of a NATO show of force at a period of heightened tension between NATO and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
In the next days, the ship and her crew will participate in training exercises with the Norwegian armed forces off the coast of that nation.
According to Jonny Karlsen of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, the military’s operational command center, “this visit is an important signal of the close bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Norway as well as a signal of the credibility of collective defense and deterrence.”
The aircraft carrier would go north of the Arctic Circle, according to Norwegian media. Karlsen opted not to respond to the rumors.
The aircraft carrier’s arrival to Oslo was denounced by the Russian embassy in Oslo.
The embassy said in a Facebook post that “there are no issues in the (Arctic) north that require a military solution, nor subjects where outside intervention is needed.”
Such displays of force look irrational and damaging, especially in light of Oslo’s admission that Russia does not directly threaten Norway’s security from a military standpoint.
As a result of a decline in Russian gas shipments, NATO member Norway, which borders Russia in the Arctic, overtook Russia as the continent’s top gas provider last year.
Following explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the Norwegian military and NATO allies have been monitoring the area surrounding offshore oil and gas rigs since the fall.
