Moscow: On Saturday, Russia declared that it would "respond" after Iceland became the first nation to suspend its embassy operations in Moscow.

According to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry, Iceland is "ruining" relations with Russia and that action will inevitably result in a response.

The ministry continued, "We will take this unfriendly decision into consideration when we establish our relations with Iceland in the future."
On Friday, Iceland announced that it would cease operations at its embassy in Moscow as of August 1 and requested that Russia restrict its activities in Reykjavik.

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Foreign Minister Thordis Gylfadottir stated that "the current situation simply does not make it viable for the small foreign service of Iceland to operate an embassy in Russia."

Staff members could be seen removing the Icelandic flag from the side of the embassy in Moscow on Friday in a symbolic gesture. The decision, insisted the Icelandic foreign ministry, "does not constitute a severance of diplomatic relations."

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However, maintaining embassy operations in Moscow was "no longer justifiable," it said, as ties in business, culture, and politics with Russia were "at an all-time low."

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The Nordic nation established an embassy in Moscow in 1944, and as the Cold War came to an end, it served as a symbolic hub for East and West relations.