Nobel Peace Prize fuels diplomatic rift as Venezuela to shut Norway embassy

Venezuela has announced plans to close its embassy in Oslo, following the announcement of awarding the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader María Corina Machado.

As per the Venezuelan government, the closure of the embassy in Norway is part of its foreign service restructuring, without commenting on Machado’s Nobel prize.

According to Norway’s foreign ministry, Venezuela has not yet disclosed the real reason behind closure.

"It is regrettable. Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

The ministry shed light on the divergence between the Nobel committee and the Norwegian government.

The announcement followed the event in which the Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded María Corina Machado in recognition of “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” leading to peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Machado dedicated her achievement to “the predicaments of Venezuelan people and to US President Donald Trump for his unrelenting support of our cause.

Besides Norway, the government also announced to shut its embassy in Australia and open new ones in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso.