Norway to keep supplying US Navy with fuel despite company boycott call
Norway made clear that it will continue supplying fuel for U.S. Navy ships after a private marine fuel supplier threatened to boycott the U.S. in response to deteriorating U.S.-Ukraine relations.
"We have seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian government's policy," Norway's Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement Sunday, according to a report from Reuters.
The statement comes after privately held Norwegian fuel supplier Haltbakk Bunkers took to social media Friday and threatened a boycott of the U.S. Navy in response to President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's heated Oval Office exchange.
"Huge credit to the president of Ukraine restraining himself and for keeping calm even though USA put on a backstabbing TV show. It made us sick... No Fuel to Americans!," the company said in a Facebook post that has since been deleted.
The company's CEO, Gunnar Gran, confirmed to the Norwegian newspaper VG that he had decided not to supply the U.S. military, according to the Reuters report, though the company also acknowledged that the move would only have a "symbolic" impact, since Haltbakk Bunkers does not have a fixed contract with the U.S. government.
The company's threat comes after a heated exchange in the Oval Office among Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance on Friday, when Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being "disrespectful" to Trump in the White House.
"Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance told Zelenskyy. "Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines, because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country."
Trump then joined the fray after Zelenskyy claimed that the U.S. would feel the war "in the future," an argument the American leader did not appreciate.
"You don't know that," Trump responded. "Don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel."
The exchange caused some to express concerns about not only the U.S.'s commitment to Ukraine's continued war effort but also Trump's apparent strained relationship with European allies overall.
But Norway, a NATO ally, made clear that the country has no plans to join the threats to cut off the U.S. military.
"American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway," Sandvik said.
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