Kyiv, 22 March 2014 – “I am here to show support to the Ukrainian people, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland said during press briefing at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
“Even though Iceland is a small country, we have a voice and we would like to use this voice to tell the world about our support and to tell Russia that we are not very much in favor of what they are doing. We stand with the people of Ukraine. We support what Ukrainian government is doing”.
Mr. Sveinsson have also expressed his support for Ukraine’s plans to work with the IMF on tackling current economic crisis: “I hope you will get a program with the IMF because in my mind this is important in current situation”.
Speaking about sanctions against Russia and the fact that Iceland supports those sanctions despite being heavily dependent on export to Russia, Minister for Foreign Affairs have noted: “Of course it is a delicate question for our economy, but the bigger picture is more important. Stability is more important; we are acting in our interests here as well. I really hope that Russia will listen to the international community. In my mind they have totally broke the law by doing what they’ve done in Crimea”.
Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson is an Icelandic politician for the progressive party. He is a member of the Althingi (Iceland’s parliament) for the Progressive Party since 2009. He has been the Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2013.
