"Russians in Norway Are Not to Be Blamed for Kreml’s Political Choices" Rana and Sortland municipality in Northern Norway have chosen to keep their friendship city agreements with Russia in a frozen state in the hope of a warmer climate for cooperation after the war.
“Unfortunate That Municipalities Design Their Own Foreign Policies” Mayor of the North Norwegian border municipality Ørjan Jensen (Green Party), is calling for national guidelines to ensure a more uniform treatment of friendship city agreements. "The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs should take action," says Jensen, who believes Putin is now achieving exactly what he wants; division.
Sanctioning Friendship Is a Bad Idea (Commentary) Putting friendship with the Russian people on the list of sanctions against Russia is both naïve and short-sighted. Instead, friendship agreements between Norwegian and Russian cities should be used to show that we, as democracies, are capable of distinguishing between the despot Vladimir Putin and his people.
