Anger in Sweden as Nobel Prize organizers invite Russia and Belarus to the award ceremonies

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they will boycott this year’s Nobel Prize ceremonies after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its policy and invited Russia, Belarus and Iran who had previously been barred from attending.

The Nobel Foundation said that invitations for the 2023 events were extended to all countries with diplomatic missions in Sweden and Norway as that “promotes opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone.” It was unclear whether the invitations have already been sent.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT he would not have allowed Russia to attend if it had been his choice.

”To isolate Russia in every possible way — militarily, economically — it is necessary,” he told the TT news agency.

Kristersson did not comment on whether he would boycott the event, but others were more forthright.

Muharrem Demirok, the leader of the Sweden’s small opposition Center Party, said that he had been looking forward to participating in the ceremony. “But as long as Russia is waging war against Ukraine, I cannot attend the same party as their ambassador.”

Märta Stenevi, of the Green Party, agreed, saying “there is nothing to celebrate together with Russia’s ambassador.” Sweden’s employment minister, Johan Pehrson, writing on X — formerly known as Twitter — called the decision “extremely injudicious.”

Vidar Helgesen, the executive director of the Nobel Foundation, said in a statement Friday that there was a global trend in which “dialogue between those with differing views is being reduced.”

To counter that, he said, “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.”

Last year, the diplomatic envoys of Russia and Belarus were barred from attending the prize ceremonies and banquets because of the war in Ukraine, and the ambassador of Iran was also excluded because of “the serious and escalating situation” in the country.

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by jailed Belarusian rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties. The prize was seen as a strong rebuke to the authoritarian rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The foundation also announced that it was extending its invitation to all political parties in Sweden and Norway “that have parliamentary representation via democratic elections.”

In the past it has snubbed the nationalist Sweden Democrats, who are seen by some as a threat to fundamental values in the Scandinavian country’s society, including tolerance toward asylum-seekers from conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa. The party came second in the 2022 parliamentary elections.

Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Akesson quickly declined the invitation, saying on Facebook that “unfortunately I’m busy that day.”

This year’s Nobel prize winners will be announced in early October. The laureates are then invited to receive their awards at glittering prize ceremonies held on Dec. 10, the anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.

All presentations take place in Stockholm except the Nobel Peace Prize, which is presented in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. The Nobel Institute, which hands out the peace prize, said it would follow the decision of the Nobel Foundation.

____ Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.

David Keyton, The Associated Press