The White House decided to resume its military presence. The Pentagon plans to upgrade its hangar at Keflavik base, which would allow it to station the P-8 Poseidon plane. The aircraft will be used to hunt for Russian submarines.
Washington’s move raised eyebrows in Iceland. Opposition parties insist it threatens the country’s security. Another bizarre fact is that Iceland's media didn't cover this issue and residents learnt about the news from Americans news agencies.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Sputnik, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the majority of Icelanders support the government’s move.
“We are not talking about any permanent presence. What we have seen in the past two years is that we increased activities and there is more activity from the Russian Northern fleet in the ocean around Iceland and also the usual flights of the bombers. We need to upgrade the hanger at Keflavik so that these new planes can fit there, so that the P-8 can fit in.”
“Far to the left have been fighting against military presence in Iceland for the last fifty years. So for them this is worrisome but this is nothing new. It is mainly in the politics that people are discussing this and people are not aware of it. But more or less people are actually in favor of Iceland being a part of NATO.”
Sveinsson further spoke about various parties in Iceland and their reaction to this new development.
“Iceland is strategically important for our allies. It is not more important than it was thirty years ago, it has always been important. What we are facing today is the change in the security environment and more activities. Iceland is also in possession of more traffic in the Arctic and the North Sea, there are military ships, cruise ships, oil ships etc.”
