Posted Jul 30, 2022 6:49pm
Crack of a Norwegian diplomat: “I hate the Russians! I am used to cleaning rooms”
The Norwegian consul in Murmansk was filmed getting upset at the reception desk of a hotel in the Russian city. Moscow conjures up a “scandalous act of hatred and xenophobia”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday denounced what it called the “scandalous” behavior of a Norwegian consul in Russia after video surveillance of a hotel’s reception was broadcast on social networks, in which she clearly exclaimed: “I hate Russians”.
“It’s not clean”
In this video, broadcast on Telegram on Saturday by the Mash channel, which is said to be close to the Russian special services, a woman posing as Elisabeth Ellingsen, Norwegian consul in Murmansk, is clearly overwhelmed with an forced room change and one not carried out cleaning of a hotel in this city in north-western Russia.
Especially at the reception of a hotel, she toasts: “I hate the Russians. Give me another room, I won’t move from here. (…) And how do you decide whether a room is clean? You know, I’m used to cleaning rooms, I’m from Scandinavia, not like a Russian who cleans as good as she can. It’s not clean. can i sleep in one bed She points out that her colleague had the same problem, “forced to change rooms on the 14th floor for some reason.”
“Lesson in European Tolerance”
Accompanied by the message “Here is a lesson in European tolerance for Murmansk hotel staff from Norwegian consul Elisabeth Ellingsen”, the video was viewed more than 500,000 times as of Saturday afternoon. “The Russian Foreign Ministry is considering a response to this outrageous act of hatred, nationalism and xenophobia,” spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign policy Maria Zakharova told Telegram.
Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova.
AFP
For its part, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it deeply regrets the incident. “The feelings expressed do not reflect Norwegian policy or attitudes towards Russia and the Russian people,” he assured AFP, adding that the ministry was handling the incident “through the appropriate channels.”
Temporarily closed
According to the website of the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow, the Norwegian Consulate General in Murmansk has been temporarily closed since July 1 due to the “difficult” situation in bilateral relations. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry did not say whether the incident with the consul took place before or after the consulate was closed.
This incident comes at a time when relations between Russia and the West are going through a period of unprecedented tension due to the Russian offensive in Ukraine, which has provoked a volley of European and American sanctions against Moscow.
(AFP)