Iceland plans to strengthen defence facilities at Keflavík

Iceland plans to expand the defence area at Keflavík Airport, but it is too early to say whether military development will take place elsewhere in the country, Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir told mbl.is.

She spoke to reporters after a ceremony and news conference at the defence area on Tuesday morning. The occasion was the start of Northern Viking, a bilateral defence exercise involving Iceland and the United States. The exercise runs until September 3.

Northern Viking is generally held every other year. About 1,200 people from 12 countries are taking part through NATO, along with a number of Icelanders. Alexus G. Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, delivered the opening address.

Gunnarsdóttir said the exercise demonstrated the strength of Iceland’s defence cooperation with the United States, but added that Iceland and other European countries needed to do more.

“We intend to do more here in Keflavík. We need to review and upgrade our radar stations, but one thing does not exclude the other,” she said.

She also said that strong relations with both the United States and Europe were important for Iceland. In her view, joining the European Union would strengthen NATO as a whole as well as Iceland’s relationship with the United States.

Too early to say

Asked whether increased military development could take place somewhere other than Keflavík, Gunnarsdóttir said it was too early to say.

She said Iceland was in good discussions with its NATO allies and that the increased focus on the North Atlantic in defence and security matters meant that Iceland’s security and defences were being strengthened.

Regarding further development at Keflavík, she said discussions were under way but that it was too soon to say exactly what form it would take.