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© AP Photo/Yves Logghe
The police security service (PST) Norwegian claims that Russia in 2015, tried to prevent the awarding of the Nobel peace prize to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. It is reported by the Norwegian state broadcasting company NRK.
As told to journalists in PSB, the Russian special services were supposedly going to affect the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which determines recipients of the peace prize. It is expected that such a purpose in the summer of 2015 in the Internet was published a letter signed by Vladimir Groisman (now the Prime Minister, and at that time the Chairman of Parliament of Ukraine – approx. Q. TASS) to the chargé d’affaires of the USA in Norway.
The author of the letter thanked American diplomats for what they enlisted the support of two of the five Committee members, however, pointed to the fact that it is not in the “previous agreements” and that the President Poroshenko, “it is essential to guarantee” that he will be awarded.
Shortly after the document was widely spread in the network, the Secretary of the Committee and the Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute Olav Engelstad was visited by two representatives of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, previously asked him about the meeting.
A sign of paranoia
“After this visit we asked the question of whether attempts to influence us, and contacted PSB,” he told NRK Galstad. According to the secret service, one of the diplomats who spoke to the Director of the Institute, was an officer of the foreign intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, and the visit was part of a Russian RAID.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation sent written comment NRK, with such conclusions has disagreed and has expressed regret about the fact that PSB continues to look for spies among diplomats. Attempt to put as machinations of intelligence agencies “regular, even routine diplomatic work,” the Embassy’s “think paranoid”.
“It seems strange that NRK spends time and resources on such fabricated stories. In NRK should understand that an important part of work of diplomats in any country is the collection and analysis of information on foreign and domestic policy, exchange of views with partners and more. A meeting with representatives of the Nobel Committee, including those mentioned, are held for this purpose”, – is spoken in the comment of the Embassy.
Russian diplomats also point to the fact that the Norwegian intelligence agencies is easier to achieve increased funding and powers, regularly stating the threat from Russia, and to deal with perceived challenges much easier than with international terrorism.
Open card
“We see as fake news and the fake letter was used to discredit a potential candidate for the peace prize. This makes this case serious”, – told reporters the head of the counterintelligence division PSB Arne Christian Haugsdal, according to which PSB for the first time openly declared a nationwide information operation by Russian special services and in detail discuss this topic with the press.
“We have decided to publicize this information to inform the public and the authorities about this threat. It’s the best available ways to prevent it”, – stressed Haugsdal.
In PSB also do not exclude the possibility that Russian hackers attempted to hack the computers of employees of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
Secret list
The Nobel peace prize for the year 2015, received the Tunisian “Quartet” of the national dialogue, trying to cope with the consequences of a “color revolution” in the North African country. It is not known whether or not the number of nominees the President of Ukraine.
The lists of candidates for the award named after Alfred Nobel, are kept in strict confidence. Only after a 50-year period after the award awards the Nobel Foundation considers it possible to publish the documents which formed the basis of the decision.
A letter signed by Groisman in the Verkhovna Rada declared a forgery shortly after its appearance in the network. Fake it think also at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo and the Norwegian Nobel Institute.