Ukraine’s Kuleba: real peace means restoring borders of Ukraine; Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats

BUCHAREST, April 13 (Reuters) – All Ukrainian cities and Crimea must and will be part of Ukraine again, and a real peace will come by restoring the country’s borders, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Thursday.

“There is no difference between … any Ukrainian city, they all must and will be Ukraine again,” he said, speaking via a video link at a Black Sea security conference in Bucharest.

Meanwhile,  Norway’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it had decided to expel 15 Russian embassy officials, adding that they were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions.

“The government’s decision is in response to the changed security situation in Europe, which has led to an increased intelligence threat from Russia,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The officers concerned must leave Norway shortly.”

The Russian embassy in Oslo was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

Norway, a member of the NATO military alliance, shares a border with Russia in the Arctic.

“This is an important step in countering, and reducing the level of, Russian intelligence activity in Norway, and thus in safeguarding our national interests,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said.