Norway expressed "surprised and regret" over Ethiopian authorities' decision to request Norway to withdraw six diplomats by 15 September, said reports reaching Stockholm from Oslo on Tuesday.

Ethiopian authorities have expressed dissatisfaction with Norway's conduct in relation to Ethiopian interests in the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian authorities have therefore requested Norway to reduce the number of its diplomatic staff in Addis Ababa to three people, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

The Ethiopian position was communicated to the Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa on 15 August. Since then, Norway has sought to clarity the situation through consultations with the Ethiopian authorities, but this has proved unsuccessful, the Norwegian Foreign Office said in a press release.

"We are surprised and regret the Ethiopian authorities' unilateral decision," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Stoere, who informed that Norway has urged Ethiopia to reconsider its decision.

"We must now take the consequences of the fact that the Ethiopian authorities are upholding their decision and we are therefore making preparations to withdraw six diplomats from our embassy in Addis Ababa," Stoere was quoted as saying.

"This sharp reduction in staffing means that we may not be able to maintain our development cooperation with Ethiopia at the current level. We regret the impact this will have on our partners," said the Foreign Minister.

However, Stoere underlines that this does not imply a break in Norway's diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.

The Norwegian Embassy in Ethiopia is also responsible for Norway's relations with the African Union, which has its headquarters in Addis Ababa.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2007)