Spy to be freed, says Russian FM
COPENHAGEN: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov travelled to attend the commemoration of the liberation of northern Norway by Soviet troops 75 years ago amid rumours that a Norwegian serving a 14-year sentence for espionage in Russia could be freed.
Mr Lavrov arrived in Kirkenes, north of the Arctic Circle, yesterday for the ceremony with Prime Minister Erna Solberg and his Norwegian counterpart, Ine Eriksen Soreide.
Kirkenes is the hometown of Frode Berg, a retired border inspector who was arrested in Moscow in December 2017 on espionage charges for collecting information about Russian nuclear submarines. Berg denied the charges but was convicted in April.
Mr Lavrov told Norway’s TV2 channel late Thursday that Berg could return to Norway “any time”.
Eriksen Soreide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that “it is positive that Russia says Frode Berg can come home soon”.
On Thursday, an official Russian commission recommended a presidential pardon for Berg, saying the recommendation had been sent to President Vladimir Putin.
Prosecutors asserted that Berg was caught with documents he had received from an employee of a military facility who was shadowed by Russian intelligence. Berg’s lawyer has called him a victim of a setup.
For years, the 63-year-old Berg had been a well-known figure in the Russian-Norwegian border area, taking an active role in cultural and humanitarian exchange projects.
The Soviet army liberated Norway from Nazi-German occupation in October 1944.