Norway Expels Russian Envoys for Alleged Spying

Two Russian diplomats flew home from Norway on Sunday after they were expelled for allegedly trying to buy Norwegian government secrets and spying on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member.

In a holdover from the Cold War era, a Norwegian official disclosed last week that he had worked as a double agent since 1994, feeding the Russians false documents and information after they tried to recruit him as a spy.

Demonstrating its anger over the case, Norway canceled a visit to Moscow by its prime minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, that had been scheduled to start Tuesday. Norway also declared three other Russians--including two diplomats once stationed in Oslo--personae non grata and banned them from ever visiting Norway.

“This is a very serious case,” Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek told reporters Thursday when the issue first surfaced. “We did not believe that today’s Russia would direct such activities against a friendly country.”

It was unclear what prompted Norway to expose the alleged espionage operation so long after initially uncovering it and on the eve of the prime minister’s trip.

Russian officials did not directly deny the accusation but accused Norway of acting in an uncivilized manner. They threatened to retaliate for the expulsion and the cancellation of the high-level visit.

“I am at a loss,” Foreign Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov said in a TV interview Saturday night. “Doing this ahead of the prime minister’s visit and canceling it? This is an improper way of doing things.”

Yuri G. Kobaladze, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, said Moscow will retaliate in a manner that “will not go unnoticed,” but he did not specify what that might be.

“There are civilized methods to resolve any conflicts, and this conflict should have been settled some other way,” he said.

Some observers speculated that Russia could seek retribution by targeting Alexander Nikitin, a former naval captain who was accused of treason and jailed for 10 months after he began working for the Norwegian environmental group Bellona and helped expose radioactive pollution near the Norwegian border. Arrested in 1996, Nikitin still faces trial.

Norway, whose border with Russia is about 100 miles long, has been trying recently to improve relations between the two countries. During the Soviet era, it expelled dozens of Communist diplomats as alleged spies. Norway, the only NATO member that borders Russia, recently announced assistance to its neighbor, including help in solving the problem of radioactive waste on the Kola Peninsula near Norway.

Svein Lamark, the Norwegian government employee who worked as a double agent to trap the Russians, said the accused spies were interested in environmental issues and the workings of the Norwegian government. A Norwegian official also accused the men, Russian embassy counselor Yevgeny Serebryakov and attache Valery Koshkarev, of seeking information about political figures.

The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang reported Sunday that Lamark held secret meetings with his handlers in Russia, Sweden, Finland and Norway.