From Iceland — Foreign Minister Sets Conditions For Interviews

Foreign Minister Sets Conditions For Interviews

Published March 4, 2014

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
mfa.is

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told state broadcasting service RÚV that he will not grant any interviews with them, unless certain conditions are met.

RÚV reports that the news station tried to get a comment from the minister on the situation in Ukraine. The minister refused, saying he would only grant an interview if it was broadcast live, or if he got to have a copy of the interview, unedited, beforehand.

At the same time, the minister did grant an interview with reporters from Stöð 2 without these conditions. RÚV has since asked for a written explanation from the minister on this discrepancy.

The minister has been under considerable fire lately for a parliamentary proposal he created that would end accession talks with the EU – despite a referendum on continuing talks being promised by the ruling coalition before elections.

This has prompted thousands to protest in front of parliament against the measure, whilst over 44,000 Icelanders have signed a petition calling for a referendum, and support for the government has been dropping.

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