The Nobel Foundation announced Saturday that it would not invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the awards ceremony in December after the initial decision to invite them caused uproar in Sweden.
Last year the ambassadors of Russia and from Belarus had not been invited due toInvasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the foundation agreed to host them this year to ease divisions between states in the name of free science and culture, but several Swedish political parties responded by announcing they would boycott the ceremony.
“We have noted the strong reactions in Sweden,” the foundation said in a statement on Saturday. “Therefore, we decided to extend last year’s extraordinary measure of not inviting the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran to the ceremony.”
The Nobel Prize winners will be announced at the beginning of October. Five of the six prizes – the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo – are awarded in Stockholm.
The Nobel Foundation’s about-face comes a day after Russian authorities decided to label journalist Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, a “foreign agent,” a tool often used by the Kremlin to silence the opposition.