MOSCOW: Russia Foreign Minister said on Saturday it would “respond” following Iceland became the 1st nation to suspend its embassy operations in Moscow. In a statement, the ministry said, “All of Reykjavik’s anti-Russian acts will certainly prompt an answer”, alleging Iceland of “ruining” ties between the two sides.
Moscow Says will Answer Iceland Embassy Closure
It added that Moscow will take this unfriendly decision into account when they constitute their ties with Iceland in the future. Earlier, Iceland said it would suspend operations at its embassy in Russia as of August 1 and urged Moscow to limit its work in Reykjavik. “The present situation simply does not make it feasible for the small foreign service of Iceland to work in embassy in Moscow,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Thordis Gylfadottir said.
In a symbolic move, the embassy staff could be seen taking down the flag of Icelandic hanging from the embassy compound in Moscow on Friday.
The Icelandic foreign ministry said that the act “does not establish a compensation of diplomatic relations.” It added, but since cultural, political and commercial relations with Moscow were “at an all-time low,” maintaining embassy operations in Russia was “no longer admissible,”.
The Nordic nation has had an embassy in Russia since 1944 which became a symbolic East-West meeting point toward the end of the Cold War.
