Norway announced on Thursday, April 13, the expulsion of 15 employees of the Russian Embassy in Oslo, whom it considers to be ” intelligence officers “. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to “counter and reduce the scale of Russian espionage activities” in the country.
” These 15 intelligence agents are declared undesirable because they carry out activities that are not compatible with their diplomatic status said Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in a statement.
” This is an important measure to counter and reduce the scale of Russian espionage activities in Norway “, she added. Present in Norway under diplomatic cover, the 15 Russians must leave Norwegian territory “ soon “, said the ministry.
The Norwegian intelligence services regularly designate Russia as well as China as the main threats in terms of espionage against the country, a member of NATO and bordering Russia with which it shares 198 km of borders in the Arctic.
In April 2022, a few weeks after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oslo, like several other European capitals, had already expelled three Russian diplomats suspected of espionage, which had led Moscow to retaliate with the expulsion of three Norwegian diplomats.
The two countries, which have long maintained close relations, particularly in the Far North, have seen their relations deteriorate considerably due to the conflict in Ukraine. Although it is not a member of the European Union, Norway has adopted almost all of the sanctions imposed by Brussels on Russia.
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(With AFP)