Norway expressed "surprised and regret" over Ethiopian
authorities' decision to request Norway to withdraw six diplomats
by 15 September, said reports reaching Stockholm from Oslo on
Tuesday.
Ethiopian authorities have expressed dissatisfaction with
Norway's conduct in relation to Ethiopian interests in the Horn of
Africa. The Ethiopian authorities have therefore requested Norway
to reduce the number of its diplomatic staff in Addis Ababa to
three people, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
The Ethiopian position was communicated to the Norwegian Embassy
in Addis Ababa on 15 August. Since then, Norway has sought to
clarity the situation through consultations with the Ethiopian
authorities, but this has proved unsuccessful, the Norwegian
Foreign Office said in a press release.
"We are surprised and regret the Ethiopian authorities'
unilateral decision," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr
Stoere, who informed that Norway has urged Ethiopia to reconsider
its decision.
"We must now take the consequences of the fact that the
Ethiopian authorities are upholding their decision and we are
therefore making preparations to withdraw six diplomats from our
embassy in Addis Ababa," Stoere was quoted as saying.
"This sharp reduction in staffing means that we may not be able
to maintain our development cooperation with Ethiopia at the
current level. We regret the impact this will have on our
partners," said the Foreign Minister.
However, Stoere underlines that this does not imply a break in
Norway's diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
The Norwegian Embassy in Ethiopia is also responsible for
Norway's relations with the African Union, which has its
headquarters in Addis Ababa.
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2007)
