KIRKENES (Norway). Oct 25 (Interfax) - Norwegian citizen Frode Berg, convicted in Russia of espionage, may return to his home country at any moment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"It can happen at any moment," Lavrov told Norwegian reporters.
When asked about the impact this situation may be having on bilateral relations between Russian and Norway, the Russian minister said that "there has been no impact."
Berg was detained by Russian special services near a hotel in Moscow on December 5, 2017.
The Moscow City Court convicted the Norwegian of spying and sentenced him to 14 years in a high-security penitentiary on April 16, 2019.
Investigators believe that Berg was gathering information about the Russian Navy's nuclear submarines provided to him by an employee of a Russian defense industry enterprise who was acting under the supervision of special services.
According to Russian investigators, Berg was spying on behalf of Norway's intelligence service in exchange for a reward.
His defense team, in turn, insisted that "the prosecution failed to present any evidence proving Berg's awareness of the events he had been drawn into, and his lack of awareness was so substantial that it makes it possible to speak about the absence of any crime in his actions."