The storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad must not be repeated, emphasizes Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and confirms in a statement that the Vienna Convention must be followed.
“What happened to the Kingdom of Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad is an act that cannot be repeated, and any similar act will be subject to legal responsibility,” writes the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in a statement on Saturday.
According to the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Iraq’s responsibility for the protection of the embassy has “obviously seriously breached”.
Iraq has also received condemnations from, among others, the EU and the US for not protecting the embassy in line with the Vienna Convention.
“The State Department reaffirms full commitment to the Vienna Convention on the Regulation of Diplomatic Relations between Countries, and renews its letter to domestic diplomatic missions, stating that the Iraqi government is responsible for providing protection and security for diplomatic personnel working in all missions,” writes the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in Saturday’s statement.
The seconded staff at the Swedish embassy in Iraq have been temporarily relocated to Stockholm for security reasons, according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry’s cabinet secretary summoned Iraq’s chargé d’affaires on Thursday. In the conversation, it was stated that the storming of the embassy, which occurred on the night of Thursday, is “totally unacceptable”. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) has also had a conversation with his Iraqi colleague, where the same message was conveyed.