Earlier in June, the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would suspend the operations of its embassy in Moscow from August 1. The Nordic country also asked Russia to reduce diplomatic activities in the capital Reykjavik.
In a statement at the time, the Icelandic Foreign Ministry said that as trade, cultural and political relations with Russia were at an all-time low, maintaining the embassy in Moscow was “no longer justified.”
After deciding to close the embassy, the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that this move does not mean that Iceland has severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Iceland will also prioritize restoring the embassy's operations as soon as conditions allow.
In a separate statement, the Icelandic Foreign Ministry said that the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Lithuania will allow the country's diplomats and other representatives to access office facilities at the Lithuanian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine.
Iceland has planned to increase its presence in a show of solidarity with Ukraine amid the conflict.
“We hope that our relations with Ukraine will continue to strengthen in the near future. Since there are no plans to open an embassy in Kiev, this cooperation is a great start,” said Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Gylfadottir.
According to AFP, the Icelandic Embassy in Russia is the diplomatic mission representing the country in eight other countries in the region, including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The country has opened 18 embassies abroad, with location priorities appropriate to the level of economic, political, cultural and development cooperation relations.
Source link
Comment (0)