Pawel calls for unity after Trump depicts Iceland as US territory

Pawel Bartoszek, a member of Iceland’s parliament for Viðreisn, has called for strength and unity after US President Donald Trump published an image depicting Iceland and Greenland as part of US territory, mbl.is reports.

“This is not the right time to argue and look in the rear-view mirror,” Bartoszek told mbl.is. He said internal division often posed a greater danger to sovereign states and stressed that Iceland remained an independent and sovereign nation that made its own decisions in international affairs, just as it had 10 days earlier.

Asked whether Iceland was on weak footing in international affairs, Bartoszek rejected that assessment. “We are no worse off than other countries. The situation in international affairs is simply worse than it was a decade ago,” he said.

Bartoszek said he did not find it amusing when the borders and sovereignty of countries were treated casually. He said the image had also challenged the borders and sovereignty of Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Haiti, Cuba and other countries. “It is obviously not good, and it is in our interest to show unity at home,” he said.