Originally appeared at Sputnik Deutschland. Translated from the German by Susan Neumann

Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) warns that vodka and sex are increasingly being used to lure and blackmail Norwegian citizens who come to Russia to do business. Members of the Norwegian Parliament traveling to Russia are also being advised by security, according to the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.



The public broadcaster goes on to say, however, that many Norwegians still behave "extremely naive" and often fall into cleverly laid traps.



Arne Christian Haugstoyl, the PST section head for counter-intelligence, said in an interview with NRK, "We have received many signals from Norwegian citizens who have been blackmailed to deliver information to Russian authorities.”



The Norwegian PST calls on their citizens to exercise caution when travelling in Russia and to not be so naive. The means by which the Russian intelligence puts pressure on "honorable Norwegians," including politicians and businessmen, are alcohol (vodka) and "honey traps." NRK explains that honey traps are situations where sex is used as a lure to get confidential information.



These methods are indeed nothing new, but the Norwegian PST believes they’ve been used more frequently in recent times. The broadcaster says that distrust of the Russians has increased after the connection with Crimea.



Responding to a question from NRK as to whether he actually believes that Norwegians lose their senses when abroad, Haugstoyl shared his misgivings: "That's exactly how I would put it, and what I want to say is yes, we are naïve when we travel to these kinds of countries."



The Norwegian broadcaster even contacted the Russian Embassy in Oslo and got a response by e-mail. The press attaché of the Russian Embassy, ​​Andrej Kulikov, denied all accusations from the Norwegian PST, calling them "offensive" and "nothing but lies."



Those Norwegian delegates with whom NRK has spoken have stated that they’ve already received warnings and advice from the PST, aimed at addressing proper behavior when among Russian politicians, diplomats, and businessmen.



Haugstoyl expressed his concern on the matter: "We expect that a lot will be kept quiet because many are subjected to such strong pressure that they simply prefer not to disclose anything to their employers nor to us.