Russia condemns ‘illogical’ US aircraft carrier visit to Norway

People stand onboard the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the North Sea off Denmark, May 22, 2023. (Reuters)

• The 337-metre USS General Ford is scheduled to dock in the Norwegian capital this week
• The first-in-class aircraft carrier is a nuclear-powered ship with a displacement of more than 100,000 tonnes

OSLO: Russia’s embassy in Norway on Tuesday harshly criticized a planned visit by a US aircraft carrier to Oslo as an “illogical and harmful” show of force.
The 337-meter (1,106-foot) USS General Ford is scheduled to dock in the Norwegian capital this week.
“There are no issues in the North that require a military solution, nor issues that require outside intervention,” Russian embassy spokesman Timur Chekanov told AFP by email.
“Considering that Oslo admits that Russia poses no direct military threat to Norway, such shows of force seem illogical and harmful,” he added.
The first-in-class aircraft carrier is a nuclear-powered ship with a displacement of more than 100,000 tons.
The US Navy announced in early May that the ship had departed Norfolk on its “first combat deployment,” following a shorter two-month deployment in the autumn of 2022.
“The fact that a new aircraft carrier is now making its first visit to Norwegian waters is very positive for our cooperation with the Americans,” Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram told news agency NTB while on a visit to the massive warship.
Relations between NATO member Norway and Russia — with which the Scandinavian country shares a border in the Far North — have deteriorated sharply in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.