MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The choice of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winners is yet another political move, and the awarding procedure itself has long been an instrument of Western politics, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Venediktov told TASS.
"The venerable and authoritative institution of the Nobel Prize has long ago turned into an instrument of Western politics. The latest award is just another episode of the Nobel Committee following orders," he said, commenting on the choice of 2022 winners.
Venediktov noted that examples that prove that this decision is biased are innumerable.
"Let us remember Barack Obama, who received his prize nine months after his presidency started - basically, for saying nice words. Effectively, he was paid in advance, and he failed to live up to it. In 2021, the EU received an award for god knows what. Just recently, [Former US Chairman of the Federal Reserve] Ben Bernanke received a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences - this is a total joke," he said.
According to the official, "It’s a shame that Nobel did not come up with a mechanism for the prize’s forfeiture."
"Because many laureates discredited themselves later. On the other hand, these days, amid an unprecedented bias of the prize, it is being awarded to already disgraced people. Well, apparently, such is Western culture - or, rather, lack thereof," Venediktov noted.
The Nobel Committee awarded the 2022 Peace Prize to Belarusian lawyer and activist Ales Belyatsky, Russia’s "Memorial" Center (deemed foreign agent in Russia and eliminated under court order) and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. According to the Committee, the prize was awarded for protecting "civil rights in their home countries."