Prime Minister Erna Solberg has avoided a lack of confidence vote in Parliament after she and her justice minister, Monica Mæland, apologized for the government’s lack of preparedness regarding the aborted sale of Bergen Engines this spring. That’s mostly because no one wants to unseat her government just 100 days ahead of the September election. […]
Government halts firm’s sale to Russia
March 23, 2021
After weeks of controversy, the Norwegian government has changed its mind and will, after all, halt the sale of Bergen Engines to TMH International of Russia. The government now apparently agrees that national security interests are at stake, since Bergen Engines has supplied and still services some of the motors on several Norwegian defense vessels […]
Norway joins new Russia sanctions
October 15, 2020
Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide confirmed on Thursday that Norway is attaching itself to new sanctions that the European Union (EU) is imposing against top officials in Russia. It means Norway faces sanctions from Russia in return, but Søreide claims it’s worth the risk. “We can’t accept that opposition politicians are poisoned with military poison, […]
Hopes high before meeting with Putin
April 9, 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway’s alleged spy on trial in Moscow on Tuesday wasn’t the only thorny issue as Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Tuesday afternoon. Political analysts were hoping for improved relations in general after Solberg landed on Russian soil Monday evening for the first […]
Russia objects to US troops in Norway
October 27, 2016
Russia’s foreign ministry made it clear Thursday night that it’s not at all in favour of Norway allowing US troops to be stationed at Værnes outside Trondheim. “Norway is choosing American soldiers over economic cooperation with Russia,” a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign minister told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “We don’t understand why something like this is […]
PST warns of Russian spy traps
November 9, 2015
Norway’s police intelligence agency PST is warning “naive Norwegians” against falling into espionage traps allegedly set up by Russian counterparts with the help of vodka and prostitutes. The Russian Embassy in Oslo is calling the warnings “scandalous” and they’re clearly not helping to ease tensions between Norway and Russia. PST nonetheless told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) on Monday that […]
Russian envoy: ‘Norway is overreacting’
April 20, 2015
UPDATED: Russia’s ambassador to Norway trooped up to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry on Monday after being summoned to explain why his country’s deputy prime minister visited Svalbard over the weekend, in violation of the EU’s and Norway’s sanctions against him. Ambassador Vyacheslav Pavlovskiy blamed the incident on “technical” issues and the weather, and called Norway’s objections an […]
Russian defies Norway in Arctic
April 19, 2015
The Norwegian government has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Norway to a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on Monday, after a high-ranking Russian government official not only defied sanctions by setting foot on Svalbard over the weekend but also reportedly declared that “we will make the Arctic our own.” Russia’s deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, is a […]
Putin’s ‘oil czar’ visits Norway
December 4, 2014
He’s been banned from entering the United States, but top Russian oil executive Igor Sechin was in Norway on Thursday for business meetings with Norwegian state oil company Statoil, according to a report in newspaper Aftenposten. Sechin is considered a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and subject to sanctions imposed by the US against Russia last […]
Solberg’s comments ‘lost in translation’
November 26, 2014
Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s staff and Norway’s foreign ministry were fending off reports in Ukraine this week that Norway had “frozen” all contact with Russia. That’s simply not true, claim Norwegian officials, blaming the reports on a mistaken translation of Solberg’s remarks during an interview while in Ukraine last week. Solberg visited Ukraine directly after […]
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