Russia Adds Norway to 'Unfriendly' Countries List
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Moscow on Thursday announced the inclusion of Norway in its list of "unfriendly" countries, imposing restrictions on the number of local staff that Norway can hire at its diplomatic mission in Russia.
Russia's cabinet of ministers stated that the government decision limits the number of local staff at Norway's diplomatic missions in Russia to 27 people, according to The Moscow Times.
The move by Moscow comes as a response to Norway's action in April, when it expelled 15 Russian embassy employees on accusations of working undercover as intelligence officers. In retaliation, Russia expelled 10 Norwegian diplomats two weeks later.
The list of "unfriendly" states, which carry out actions deemed "hostile" against Russian missions abroad, was initially established by President Vladimir Putin in 2021 and included the United States and the Czech Republic. However, Russia later expanded the list to include Greece, Denmark, Slovakia, Croatia, and Slovenia. The latter two countries were even banned from hiring local employees at their diplomatic missions altogether.
All eight countries on Russia's "unfriendly" list have expressed support for Ukraine following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Despite not being an EU member state, Norway has aligned itself with the European Union's sanctions against Russia.
Moreover, Russia maintains another separate list of "unfriendly" countries that impose economic limits on numerous Western nations that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.
