MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide has welcomed Moscow’s statement that former Norwegian border inspector Frode Berg, convicted of espionage in Russia, may soon return to his home country.

"It is a positive fact that Russia says Frode Berg may soon return home to Norway," she said, as cited by the NRK broadcasting company.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that Berg, who had applied for a pardon, might return to Norway "any time now."

Berg case

Berg was detained in Moscow in December 2017 during a special operation carried out by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and was charged with espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code.

The Moscow City Court found him guilty on April 16, sentencing him to 14 years in a high security colony. Investigators figured out that the Norwegian national had collected information about Russia’s nuclear submarines from a defense company’s staff member, who was under intelligence surveillance. According to the prosecution, Berg had cooperated with the Norwegian Intelligence Service.