Norway announced on Thursday (13) the expulsion of 15 employees of the Russian embassy in Oslo, which it considers “intelligence agents”.
“These 15 intelligence agents are declared undesirable because they carry out activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement.
“This is an important measure to combat and reduce the scope of Russian spying activities in Norway,” he added.
The 15 Russians, present in Norway as diplomats, are expected to leave Norwegian territory “shortly”, the ministry said.
The Russian embassy in Oslo has yet to respond to AFP requests for comment.
Norwegian intelligence services regularly point to Russia and China as the main spying threats against the Nordic country, a member of NATO and bordering Russia, with whom it shares a 198 km border in the Arctic.
In April 2022, just weeks after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Oslo – like other European capitals – expelled three Russian diplomats suspected of spying, prompting Moscow to respond by expelling three Norwegian diplomats.
The two countries had long maintained close relations – particularly in the Far North – but these have deteriorated considerably since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
Although not a member of the European Union, Norway has adopted almost all of the bloc’s sanctions against Russia.
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© Agence France-Presse