Nobel body withdraws invitation to Iran, Russia, Belarus
The Nobel Foundation said it would not after all invite the ambassadors of Iran, Russia, and Belarus to attend the Nobel Prize awards ceremony in Stockholm this year, reversing an earlier decision after widespread criticism.
The foundation said on Saturday that the original 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”. According to TRT World.
However, it noted 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.”
Last year, the Norwegian Nobel Institute still invited all ambassadors to the Peace Prize ceremony it organizes in Oslo, and the foundation said this would be the case again.
“As before, all ambassadors will be invited to the ceremony in Oslo,” it noted.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who had also disagreed with the foundation’s original announcement, welcomed the new decision in a statement on X.
In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organizes the annual Nobel Prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the Stockholm award event because of the war in Ukraine.
The decision to once again invite the Russian and Belarusian representatives sparked ire in Sweden and abroad.