After the move provoked criticism, the Nobel Foundation said on Saturday that it was reversing its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year’s Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm.
Because of the conflict in Ukraine, the Nobel Foundation, which oversees the Stockholm banquet and yearly Nobel Prize ceremony, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian embassies to the Stockholm ceremony in 2022.
In response to the nation’s repression of a wave of protests, they reached the same conclusion regarding the Iranian envoy.
However, the Swedish foundation announced Thursday that it would resume its prior practice of inviting ambassadors from all nations represented in Sweden, setting off a storm of indignant responses.
The foundation said Saturday that the decision was based on its belief “that it is important and right to reach out as widely as possible with the values and messages that the Nobel Prize stands for.”
It noted however that the strong reactions “completely overshadowed this message”.
“We, therefore, choose to repeat last year’s exception to regular practice — that is, to not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm,” the foundation said in a statement.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute announced that it would continue to invite all ambassadors to the Oslo ceremony it hosts each year to award the Nobel Peace Prize.
“As before, all ambassadors will be invited to the ceremony in Oslo,” it noted.
Sweden and other countries were outraged by the decision to invite the Russian and Belarusian officials once more.
According to Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, efforts to isolate Belarus and Russia should be supported because “millions of Ukrainians suffer from an unprovoked war and the Russian regime is not punished for its crimes.”
Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, also expressed his disapproval of the Foundation’s choice on Friday.
“I would not have done it if I were handling invites to an award ceremony and I understand that it upsets many people in both Sweden and Ukraine,” he said in a written statement to AFP.
Leading Swedish politicians, including those of the Center, Green, Left, and Liberal parties, declared they would skip the event due to the presence of the Russian ambassador.
The glamorous ceremony, which is held annually in Stockholm on December 10, sees King Carl XVI Gustaf present prizes to winners in the fields of economics, literature, science, and medicine.
On the same day, a separate ceremony honoring the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize is conducted in Oslo.
