Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the reasons for closing the embassy in Moscow

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland confirmed that the reason for the closing of this country's embassy in Moscow in June 2023 was violating the privacy of diplomats. According to the media, Russian intelligence was involved in the harassment.

As the British newspaper “Daily Express” wrote, “diplomats (Icelandic) were buried, in winter they set open windows or traces of cigarettes in visible places.” “Another time a diplomat, about which the Russians knew that she was a vegetarian, found a steak in the fridge” – revealed.

According to the expert for international matters, Professor David Dunn from the University of Birmingham, the purpose of this type of incident is to bring foreign facilities without making a formal decision by the Russian authorities.

According to Daily Express, Icelandic diplomats left Moscow after a long -term campaign to harass Russian intelligence by officers. Iceland in NATO supports military and civil help for the Russian occupier fighting with the Russian occupier Ukraine.

“Gross violation of employees' privacy”

When asked about the matter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, confirmed that “one of the reasons for the closing of the embassy was a gross violation of employees' privacy.” “Their safety is the highest priority,” Gunnarsdottir emphasized in an interview with Icelandic public broadcaster RUV. According to the head of the Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was a fracture by Russia Vienna Convention, obliging a state receiving to ensure security.

Iceland was the first country that in 2023 closed its diplomatic representation in Moscow after the Russian full -day invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At that time, the “change of priorities” was given as an official reason.

On Wednesday, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Russia is trying to close the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Moscow. The British department of diplomacy called on the Russian ambassador in London and withdrew accreditation to one of the Russian diplomats and his wife.

Read: “Campaign of harassment” of British diplomats. Russian ambassador called