Iceland announces diplomatic boycott of 2018 Russian World Cup

Iceland has announced it will be boycotting the World Cup this summer

Iceland has announced it will be boycotting the World Cup this summer. It comes after the US and EU countries announced the expulsion of diplomats over the Sergei Skripal poisoning case.

Iceland also said it is temporarily suspending its bilateral contacts with Russia at the highest level, TASS news agency reported, citing the Russian envoy to the country.

The 21st FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Russia from June 14 to July 15. Russia won hosting rights to the event in December 2010.

The games will take place in Kaliningrad, Kazan, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, and Yekaterinburg.

It comes after 16 EU member states, other European countries, the US, and Canada announced on Monday that they would be expelling Russian diplomats over the Sergei Skripal case. Western countries have placed blame on Moscow of the March 4 poisoning of the former double agent in Salisbury, UK. Russia has denied having any part in the attack and has offered its full cooperation in the investigation.

source: RT