Nobel Prize 2023: Russia, Belarus, Iran not invited to annual awards ceremony

Nobel Prize 2023 awards ceremony to exclude Russia, Belarus, Iran.

The Nobel Foundation said on Saturday it would not after all invite the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus or Iran to attend the Nobel Prize 2023 awards ceremony in Stockholm this year, reversing an earlier decision after widespread criticism, Reuters reports.

Last year, the foundation left out the ambassadors of Russia and its ally Belarus because of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The foundation said on Thursday it would invite them, and Iran’s ambassador, to this year’s prize award ceremonies in December, commenting that it sought to include even those who did not share the values of the Nobel Prize.

However, in a reversal the foundation announced in a press release Saturday that ambassadors from the three countries would not be invited.

Ukraine had condemned the decision to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors, who were excluded last year because of the war in Ukraine.

The prize-winners are announced in early October and five of the six Nobel prizes are awarded in Stockholm every year after a nomination process that is kept secret for the next 50 years. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo where separate festivities are held.

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