The Nobel Foundation, a private institution that manages finances and administration of Nobel Prizes, has disinvited ambassadors from Russia, Belarus, and Iran from attending its prize awarding ceremonies, the organisation reported on Saturday.
“The board of the Nobel Foundation, 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 statement reads.
The statement adds that the decision to invite all ambassadors to the 2023 Nobel Prize events in accordance with previous practices has caused a stir. In particular, the move to invite the Russian envoy was criticised in Sweden and Ukraine.
On 31 August, the Nobel Foundation announced that it would reinstate the rules of inviting guests to the Nobel Prize ceremonies, extending invitations to all countries whose diplomatic missions are represented in Sweden and Norway.
“It is clear that the world is increasingly divided into spheres, where dialogue between those with differing views is being reduced,” said Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation Vidar Helgesen. “To counter this tendency, we are now broadening our invitations to celebrate and understand the Nobel Prize and the importance of free science, free culture and free, peaceful societies.”
