Iceland to suspend embassy operations in Moscow from August 1

Iceland has announced that from 1 August it will suspend operations of its embassy in Moscow.

According to The Guardian, the country only operates 18 bilateral embassies in foreign capitals, and said in a statement:

"This is not an easy decision as Iceland has enjoyed rich relations with the people of Russia since our independence in 1944. However, the current situation simply does not make it viable for the small foreign service of Iceland to operate an embassy in Russia. I hope that conditions will someday allow for us to have normal and fruitful relations with Russia, but that depends on decisions taken by the Kremlin".

Iceland said it had accordingly asked Russia to lower the level of diplomatic representation at its embassy in Reykjavík.

The move has been welcomed by Ukraine. Its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted to say:

"Russia must see that barbarism leads to complete isolation. I encourage other states to follow Iceland’s example".