It has been announced by the Icelandic government that the country’s embassy in Moscow has been suspended due to not meeting the priorities of the foreign policy service in the current conditions.
Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, made her announcement to suspend operations on 9th July, stating that “the functioning of the embassy in Moscow in the current conditions does not meet the priorities of the foreign policy service” of Russia.
“Commercial, cultural, and political relations with Russia are currently at their lowest level. Therefore, it is no longer justified to keep the Icelandic embassy in Moscow open,” commented Gylfadóttir.
In retaliation, the Russian government then announced that such a decision would inevitably have consequences.
However, despite the suspension, the Icelandic government stated, “this decision does not constitute a severance of diplomatic relations. As soon as conditions permit, Iceland will prioritize the resumption of operations of the Embassy of Iceland in Moscow.”