he reaction of the Foreign Ministry to the closure of the Norwegian embassy in Azerbaijan

Baku / 10.11.18 / Turan: The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan expressed regret over the decision of the Norwegian government to close the embassy of this country in Baku. The closure of the Norwegian embassy is regrettable, but this is the decision of the Norwegian government, said Leyla Abdullayeva, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The Azerbaijani diplomat noted: "Azerbaijan and Norway are linked by comprehensive, warm relations." The largest energy company of this country, Equinor (formerly called "Statoil"), was one of the first in Azerbaijan to become a member of the Contract of the Century," she said. Azerbaijan and Norway have implemented numerous and useful bilateral projects in various fields, she added. According to the Azerbaijani side, Norway wants to maintain its representation in Azerbaijan through consular activities. "Whether it will act in the status of an honorary or diplomatic consulate is still unknown," said Abdullayeva. At the same time, she denied reports of Baku"s intention as a retaliatory measure to close the Azerbaijani embassy in Sweden and concurrently in Norway and Finland. "On the contrary, taking into account the increasingly active foreign policy pursued by Azerbaijan and the growing respect from the international community, we intend to further increase the number of our foreign missions," said Abdullayeva.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced the closure in 2019 of the embassy in Baku and the appointment of a diplomatic mission in Ankara responsible for relations with Azerbaijan in the future. At the same time, Oslo decided to open an embassy in Georgia. -06D-