Iceland on a List of Unfriendly Countries

Iceland is on a list, published by Russia yesterday, of 48 “foreign states and territories that commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its companies, and citizens.” The list includes countries that take part in sanctions against Russia, due to its invasion of Ukraine, mbl.is reports.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, “[t]he government noted that according to this decree, Russian citizens and companies, the state itself, its regions and municipalities that have foreign exchange obligations to foreign creditors from the list of unfriendly countries will be able to pay them in rubles. The new temporary procedure applies to payments exceeding 10 [million] rubles per month (or a similar amount in foreign currency).”

The list includes the United States, Canada, the EU states, the UK (including Jersey, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar), Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The value of the Russian ruble has dropped considerably recently, and according to mbl.is, the new decree may be intended to protect it against a further drop in value, in addition to being a way to protect Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves.