Sep 02, 2023 at 1:17 PM Update: an hour ago
Russia’s ambassador to Sweden is not welcome at the Nobel Prize ceremony, the Nobel Foundation said on Saturday. The organization thus responds to the criticism of, among others, the Swedish cabinet.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Friday that he was surprised by the decision to invite the Russian ambassador. “I wouldn’t have done that if I was talking about the invitations. And I understand that a lot of people in both Sweden and Ukraine are upset about this.”
Last year, the Russian ambassador and the ambassador of Belarus were not welcome because of the war in Ukraine. The Nobel Foundation had now consciously made a different choice.
Director Vidar Helgesen explained that the world is “increasingly divided”. According to him, countries talk less with each other. “To counteract this tendency, we invite more people.” The foundation also hoped to celebrate “free science, free culture and free, peaceful societies”.
Now the organization is backing down from its decision, because the fuss in Sweden is overshadowing the message.
In addition to the representatives of Russia and Belarus, the ambassador of Iran is also not welcome at the ceremony in Stockholm on December 10. Then the Swedish King Carl Gustaf awards the Nobel Prizes for Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Economics. The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on the same day in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
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Image: The 2022 Nobel Prize Ceremony, Getty Images
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2023-09-02 11:17:41
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