Nobel Committee reacts to nomination of Zelenskyy for Peace Prize; 'Can't extend deadline'

In response to European politicians' letter to the Nobel Committee to consider the Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute Olav Njolstad said that the nomination period for the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be extended, Russian news agency TASS reported.

The deadline for nomination for the Nobel awards expired on January 31. There are 343 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for this year, out of which 251 are individuals and 92 are organisations.

European leaders write to Nobel Committee, seek to nominate Zelenskyy for Peace Prize

A group of European Politicians last week wrote to the Nobel committee to consider President Zelenskyy for the peace prize. Addressing the Nobel committee with an open letter, the leaders requested to extend the nomination procedure until March 31, 2022, to allow nomination for the Ukrainian president.

"In light of historically unprecedented events, we respectfully call upon the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to re-open and reconsider the 2022 nomination procedure for the Nobel Peace Prize,” the open letter signed by the European leaders read.

"We are witness to the courage of the people of Ukraine withstanding this war waged upon them by the Russian Federation. Brave Ukrainian men and women are fighting to preserve democracy and self-government. From the defiant democratically-elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the man with tears in his eyes saying goodbye to his family to fight for his country, people all over Ukraine are rising up to resist the forces of authoritarianism,” the letter reads. “We believe that now is the time to show the people of Ukraine that the world is on their side," it added, urging the Nobel committee to consider the request.

The leaders urged the Nobel Committee to break the protocol as the request comes due to an unprecedented situation. “It is our democratic duty to stand up to authoritarianism and to support a people fighting for democracy and their right to self-government,” the letter read. 

The letter was signed by 36 European politicians from the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovakia and Romania.

Image: AP