The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced the “scandalous” behavior of a Norwegian consul in Russia after the broadcast of a video in which she launched “I hate Russians”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry this Saturday denounced the “scandalous” behavior of a Norwegian consul in Russia after video surveillance of a hotel reception was broadcast on social networks, where she, obviously annoyed, starts: “I hate Russians”.
In this video, aired this Saturday by Telegram’s Mash channel, which is said to be close to Russian special services, a woman presented as Elisabeth Ellingsen, Norwegian consul in Murmansk, is clearly overwhelmed by a forced room change and one that was not performed Cleaning hotel of this city in northwestern Russia.
Video viewed over 500,000 times
Especially at the reception of a hotel she launched: “I hate Russians. Give me another room, I won’t move out of 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 woman who cleans as best 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.”
Accompanied by the message “Here is a lesson in European tolerance for the staff of a hotel in Murmansk from the 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,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Telegram.
The consulate is temporarily closed
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 said, adding that the ministry dealt with the incident “through the appropriate channels.”
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.