The Russian Foreign Ministry stated today, Saturday, that "Iceland's decision to suspend the activities of its embassy in Moscow undermines bilateral cooperation." The ministry's statement indicated that "the decision taken by Icelandic authorities to lower the level of diplomatic relations with Russia destroys the entire scope of Russian-Icelandic cooperation." It added: "We will take this unfriendly decision into account when building our relations with Iceland in the future. All actions against Russia will inevitably be followed by a corresponding response."
Iceland announced yesterday, Friday, that it would suspend embassy activities starting August 1, due to a decline in commercial, cultural, and political relations to an "all-time low" between the two countries, noting that it had requested Russia to reduce its diplomatic activities in Reykjavik. Upon announcing its decision, Iceland stated that it had not severed diplomatic relations and would reopen its embassy once relations returned to normal.
