Learn Swedish: Vare sig vi besöker ambassaden eller inte, fortsätter samarbetet. - Whether we visit the embassy or not, the cooperation continues.

You might have learned that vare sig ... eller translates to 'neither ... nor' when used in a negative sentence. However, when it sets up a condition like it does here, it acts as a conjunction meaning 'whether ... or'. It shows that the outcome in the main clause happens regardless of the two alternatives.

Could we use om instead of vare sig to mean 'whether' in this sentence?

No, om wouldn't work here. While om translates to 'whether' or 'if' in indirect questions (like 'I wonder whether he is coming'), vare sig ... eller is required when you present two alternative conditions that lead to the exact same result.

Why is the verb fortsätter placed before the subject samarbetet?

This is the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire first clause Vare sig vi besöker ambassaden eller inte acts as the first block of information. Since the main verb must be in the second position, fortsätter comes right after the comma, pushing the subject samarbetet behind it.

Why does the word samarbetet end in -t?