MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russia will respond proportionately to Norway’s decision to declare as personae non gratae 15 staffers of the Russian embassy.
"Russia will make an appropriate response," the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Thursday.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said on Thursday that 15 staffers of the Russian embassy were to be expelled for allegedly conducting "activities incompatible with their diplomatic status."
According to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, the 15 employees of the Russian embassy in question had been conducting intelligence activities under diplomatic cover. They will be obliged to leave Norway in the near future. Huitfeldt said the Norwegian authorities would not issue visas to Russians suspected of cooperation with Russia’s special services. At the same time, she noted that Russian diplomats were "always welcome in the country" and that Norway "wants to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Russia."