Norway will continue providing logistics support to U.S. Navy warships, despite calls for a boycott from a Norwegian company over last week’s heated meeting in the White House between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy.
Norwegian fuel supplier Haltbakk Bunkers on Friday blasted the Trump administration on social media following the public clash. Mr. Zelenskyy had been in Washington to sign a major natural resources deal with the Trump administration but returned to Europe empty-handed.
“Huge credit to the president of Ukraine [for] restraining himself and for keeping calm even though [the] USA put on a backstabbing TV show. It made us sick,” the privately held company said in a since-deleted Facebook post. “No fuel to Americans! We encourage all Norwegians and Europeans to follow our example.”
Haltbakk Bunkers CEO Gunnar Gran later told Norwegian newspaper Kystens Noeringsliv that the company stopped supplying fuel to Russian vessels following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“This meant that many of our competitors received a lot of extra income. We lost a lot of revenue,” Mr. Gran said. “But we have a moral compass. Now the U.S. is excluded based on its behavior towards the Ukrainians.”
Officials in Norway said calls to ban support to U.S. Navy vessels aren’t in line with the government’s policy. Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik confirmed Monday that “all requested support has been provided” to its NATO ally.
“The U.S. and Norway maintain a close and strong defense cooperation. American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway,” Mr. Sandvik said in a statement.
Haltbakk Bunkers called for a boycott after Vice President J.D. Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being impolite to Mr. Trump and ungrateful for the support Kyiv has received from the U.S.
“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 people,” Mr. Vance said. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking [Mr. Trump].”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.