Norwegian ambassador Robert Kvile was summoned to a meeting in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday morning, and arrived just before 10 o’clock Norwegian time. There he learned that several diplomats in Moscow had been declared undesirable in Russia, he told news himself. – It would be a big surprise if they responded in a different way, he says of the Russian authorities, but adds that the meeting was conducted in a pleasant tone. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway tells news that it is about ten diplomats at the embassy in Moscow. The parties have not yet come out with names. The meeting lasted longer than expected beforehand. Kvile only came out after 40 minutes, and got into a black Audi with Norwegian flags on the sides. Photo: Gro Holm – Russian authorities state that this is a reaction to Norway’s decision to declare 15 employees at the Russian embassy in Oslo as undesirable in Norway, says spokeswoman Ragnhild Simenstad in the Foreign Ministry. – We see the Russian decision as an act of revenge. All our diplomats in Russia carry out ordinary diplomatic work. Russian authorities know this well. Simenstad points out that the 15 employees at the Russian embassy in Oslo were sent out of Norway because the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that they are involved in intelligence operations. They consider the response from Russia to be in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, she adds. The declaration does not apply to any employees at the consulate in St. Petersburg. The majority of Norwegian diplomats in Russia work at the embassy in Moscow. Photo: Ksenia Novikova Said expulsion was “a new, unfriendly step” The 15 Russians who were declared undesirable in Norway earlier in April were officially present in the country as diplomats. The governing authorities must have followed their activities over a long period of time. At the time, the press spokesman at the embassy, Timur Chekanov, replied that they interpreted it as “a new, extremely unfriendly step” from the Norwegian side. The sign outside the Russian embassy in Oslo. Photo: VICTORIA KLESTY / Reuters It is not the first time that Norway has declared Russian diplomats undesirable due to suspected intelligence activities, but never before has the number been so large. A year ago, Norway declared three Russian diplomats on the same grounds. Then Russia responded by deporting just as many. PST has previously told news that Russia has started to take greater chances in its intelligence operations in Norway after the war in Ukraine started. Fear of embassy operations According to what news knows, there have been 19 Norwegian diplomats in Russia up to now. Some stay at the embassy in Moscow, and some in St. Petersburg. Now when ten have to leave the country, there are not many left. This will have consequences for Norwegian diplomatic activities in Russia, say several experts to news. – In order to have that contact and be informed about what is happening in Russia, you have to have a certain number of people working there, said diplomacy researcher Ivar B. Neumann when the Norwegian expulsions first became known. Ivar B. Neumann researches diplomacy at Fridtjof Nansen’s institute. Photo: Jan Dalsgaard Sørensen – The relationship between Norway and Russia… we probably have to go back 100 years to the Russian revolution, before things have been worse. At the weekend, news revealed 38 Russian intelligence agents who have connections to the embassies in the Nordic region. Most have left the country they worked in, but at least 13 are still active. PST confirms to news that until recently there were 20 Russian intelligence officers in this country. In a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that the Brennpunkt documentary “The Shadow War”, in which the information comes to light, is “a coordinated, false story”. The documentary is the result of extensive collaboration between news, SVT, DR and Yle.
ttn-69
Ten Norwegian diplomats declared undesirable in Russia – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
