Norway expels Russian diplomat

Norway said on Wednesday it had expelled a Russian diplomat, just days after arresting a Norwegian man suspected of passing sensitive information to Moscow.

The country’s PST intelligence agency on Monday said the Norwegian man was "formally suspected of providing information to a foreign country," which it later confirmed was Russia. "We have informed the Russian ambassador that an employee of the Russian embassy is undesirable as a diplomat and will be asked to leave Norway," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Siri Svendsen. She said the person had engaged in acts "not compatible with his status as a diplomat."

The diplomat, who works in the embassy’s trade section, has until the end of the week to leave the country. Russia has vowed a response. The man was with the Norwegian when the latter was arrested at an Oslo restaurant on Saturday. The Norwegian risks up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of espionage.

The 50-year-old worked at DNV GL, a company that provides certification for insurance and other purposes for the shipping, oil and gas and renewables industries. The company said the employee was in its oil and gas division but "did not have security clearance and has therefore not worked on projects for the defence industry, the Norwegian Armed Forces or other governmental agencies where security clearance is a prerequisite."