Complex sentence: While ESRO accepted NTNF as the Norwegian party, they wanted to receive a guarantee from the Norwegian authorities; to minimize Soviet criticism, the ministry was not interested in giving such and asked that ESRO solely negotiate with NTNF.
Split into simpler sentences: While ESRO accepted NTNF as the Norwegian party, they wanted to receive a guarantee from the Norwegian authorities. However, to minimize Soviet criticism, the ministry was not interested in giving direct guarantees and asked that ESRO solely negotiate with NTNF.