Most Norwegians hope Obama wins

Fully eight out of 10 members of the Norwegian Parliament hope US President Barack Obama wins re-election next week, according to a survey conducted by Oslo newspaper Dagsavisen. That seems to reflect the mood of most Norwegians as well, in a country where the US Democratic Party would be considered conservative by Norwegians’ social democratic [...]

Colombian talks start peacefully

Historic peace talks between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group FARC finally got officially underway in Norway on Thursday and the tone seemed almost surprisingly good among all parts involved. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide was relieved to describe what he called “mutual willingness for peace.” The talks had been delayed twice and a [...]

Colombian peace talks delayed again

UPDATED: Delegations from both the Colombian government and the guerrilla group FARC postponed their departure for Oslo early this week, reportedly because of bad weather that disrupted airline traffic in Central- and South America. It was initially unclear when the delegations would arrive in Oslo to start their latest, and possibly conclusive, session of peace [...]

Taiwan waits for a nod from Norway

Autumn is high season for diplomatic gatherings in Oslo, when local embassies host receptions or celebrate national holidays. One country is almost always left out, at other times of the year as well, but this week it held its own party once again and some “friends” from the Norwegian Parliament came with warm words of [...]

Colombian peace talks postponed

Peace talks between the government of Colombia and the country’s long-standing left-wing guerrilla group FARC were due to begin in Oslo early this month but reportedly have been postponed for around a week. FARC officials claim they’ll now begin on October 15, but that hadn’t been confirmed by Colombian authorities. There’s been some confusion over [...]

No soft start for new foreign minister

Espen Barth Eide, who suddenly took over as Norway’s new foreign minister on Friday, really had to hit the ground running. He was already boarding a jet over the weekend, flying off to New York to oversee the opening of the United Nations and launch a marathon session of meetings with other world leaders. Eide, [...]

Diplomatic shuffle may include Solheim

Two of Norway’s most important ambassador posts, in Washington DC and Moscow, will be opening up this summer as part of routine moves within the Norwegian diplomatic corps. Former government minister Erik Solheim is among those likely to have another stab at an overseas posting, when 14 new ambassadors are named later this year. Norway’s [...]

Norway unhappy with Russia and China over Syria

The Norwegian government is holding Russia and China “especially” responsible for preventing the UN Security Council from making serious attempts to halt the violence and killings in Syria. The Norwegian military expert who’s been leading UN forces in Syria, meanwhile, felt forced to leave the embattled country. Major General Robert Mood left Damascus for Geneva [...]