The Government of Norway announced on Thursday the expulsion from the country of 15 Russian diplomats for considering them “spies”, since they are suspected of “gathering information” through the Russian embassy in Oslo.
In a statement, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt, stressed that this is an “important decision to combat and reduce the space for Russian intelligence activities in Norway”, as well as to protect the country’s interests.
Huitfeldt added that the activities of the Russians declared persona non grata are “incompatible with their diplomatic status.”
Present in Norway under diplomatic cover, the 15 Russians must leave Norwegian territory “shortly,” the ministry said.
Contacted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP), the Russian embassy in Oslo has not yet reacted.
Norwegian intelligence services regularly designate Russia and China as the main espionage threats against the country, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and which shares a 198-kilometre border with Russia in the Arctic.
In April 2022, just weeks after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oslo, as well as several other European capitals, expelled three Russian diplomats suspected of spying, prompting Moscow to retaliate by expelling many more Norwegian officials.
The two countries, which have long had close relations, particularly in the Far North, have seen their relations deteriorate considerably due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Although not a member of the European Union (EU), Norway has adopted almost all of the sanctions imposed by Brussels on Russia.
Source: TSF
