Iceland announced Tuesday that it had ceased operations at its embassy in Russia, becoming the first European country to do so, citing “all-time low” commercial, cultural, and political relations.
The Nordic country revealed its intention to end its mission in June.
“The decision to suspend the operations of the Embassy of Iceland in Moscow does not constitute a severance of diplomatic relations,” the Icelandic foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
“As soon as conditions permit, Iceland will prioritise the resumption of operations,” it added.
In its June announcement, the foreign ministry said that since commercial, cultural and political ties with Russia were “at an all-time low”, maintaining embassy operations in Moscow was “no longer justifiable.”
“The current situation simply does not make it viable for the small foreign service of Iceland to operate an embassy in Russia,” Foreign Minister Thordis Gylfadottir said at the time.
The following day, Russia said the decision would “inevitably prompt a response.”
“We will take this unfriendly decision into account when we establish our relations with Iceland in the future,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Along with Russia, Iceland’s embassy in Moscow has represented the country in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Iceland’s foreign ministry in Reykjavik will now be in charge of representation.
Iceland maintains 18 embassies in foreign capitals, “prioritizing their location in accordance with the extent of economic, political, and cultural ties or development cooperation,” according to the foreign ministry.
