FM postpones Iceland tour due to illness

The visit of Foreign Minister Timo Soini to Iceland scheduled for Sunday has been postponed due to his illness, said a foreign ministry press release on Saturday.

The minister has been admitted to a hospital after suffering from high fever following an infection. He is now on a sick leave.

Riikka Taivassalo, special assistant of the minister, told STT that it is not yet known how long Soini will be on sick leave, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

Earlier, on September 21, Soini survived a no-confidence motion in parliament. The motion was put forward by four opposition parties accusing Soini of publicly expressing his anti-abortion attitude blurring the international image of Finland.

Soini currently represents the populist Sininen Tulevaisuus (Blue Reform) party, a break-away fraction of the populist Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party).