Rubio assures Iceland US has no designs on the island

Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened a three-nation NATO tour in Reykjavik on Tuesday. He told Iceland that the Trump administration has no designs on the island, and said Washington shares Iceland's worries about Arctic security as tensions with Russia rise in the high north. Rubio met Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir. He left the door open to a larger U.S. military role on the island and said nothing would happen without Iceland's consent.wjtv+1

"Iceland, and its location, plays a critical role in the defense, both of Europe, but also the homeland of the United States because of geography," Rubio said, according to Bloomberg. "We would be open to having those conversations to see what more we can do together." He pointed out that the U.S. kept a permanent presence at Keflavik until 2006, and said priorities had "shifted again".bloomberg+1

Arctic threats and trade

Rubio said the threats to the region are "growing." He cited "covert measures" as well as "threats to undersea cables, threats to shipping lanes," Anadolu Agency reported. He called Iceland "a critical outpost for monitoring clandestine behaviour and deterring our adversaries," according to AFP. On trade, he said that "the era of free trade agreements for the foreseeable future is probably not going to be there," and argued for a reciprocal bilateral deal instead. The talks also covered geothermal energy, data centers and pharmaceuticals.aa+1

Iceland has no army. It depends on NATO and a 1951 defense pact with the United States. "I want to underline our really strong cooperation in terms of defense and security, and there is no change in that," Gunnarsdóttir said.afp+1

Map controversy set aside

The visit came after a period of friction. In September, Trump shared an AI-generated map that showed North America, Greenland and Iceland as "the United States of America." Iceland responded by summoning U.S. Ambassador Billy Long. Gunnarsdóttir said on Tuesday that the matter had been largely resolved. "We remain focused on the future," she said. Rubio said he had not come to talk about social media posts. "Everything is very positive," he said.wjtv+1

Rubio also met Gunnarsdóttir at Hofdi House, where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held their 1986 summit. Afterward he posted that the house "symbolizes diplomacy's role in ending the Cold War and defeating communism". The trip follows a security pact the U.S. signed in late September with Denmark and Greenland. Under that agreement, Washington plans to set up two new military bases on Greenland.afp+1

Next stops: Athens and Lisbon

Rubio's next stop is Athens, where he will hold a "strategic dialogue" on regional and energy security. He may also face questions there about U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle. The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↗ 0.28% reported misconduct allegations against her, which she denies. Rep. Gregory Meeks has said he will investigate them. Rubio will then visit Portugal before he returns to Washington on Thursday.seattletimes+2