Iceland has narrowly rejected the idea of resuming talks on joining the EU, public broadcaster RUV has reported. Previous negotiations were halted 13 years ago.

The referendum on Saturday saw a high turnout, with more than 225,000 people out of a population of just over 394,000 coming to the polls.

After the ballot count concluded on Sunday, RUV announced that 52.8% said ‘no’ to resuming accession talks, while 47.2% backed the idea.

The ballot asked voters just a single question: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?”

The country’s capital Reykjavik voted ‘Yes’, while people in rural areas were overwhelmingly against the EU path, underlining a split between the two parts of the country.

Russian presidential investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev has welcomed the outcome of the referendum, saying in a post on X that “Iceland knows how to play great football and how to reject the failing EU’s migrants, bureaucrats, and warmongering.”