Iceland reaffirms support for Greenlandic self-determination in Washington

Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir told U.S. officials in Washington this week that Greenlanders must determine their own future, reiterating Iceland’s position during talks on Arctic affairs.

Gunnarsdóttir travelled to Washington for meetings with American officials and policy figures to discuss the security situation in the North Atlantic and Arctic, economic relations and cooperation between Iceland and the United States.

During the talks, the issue of Greenland came up, and the minister said she used the opportunity to reiterate Iceland’s principled stance that Greenlanders themselves must decide their future.

“We have a clear principled position that the people of Greenland determine their own future,” she told public broadcaster RÚV.

According to Gunnarsdóttir, it was important for Iceland to make its views clear during discussions about the Arctic, where geopolitical attention has increased in recent years.

Disagreement on trade

The foreign minister also said there were differences of opinion on trade issues during the Washington meetings.

“There has been a strong and good friendship over the years. Regardless of what anyone says, our relationship in the field of security and defence is good,” Gunnarsdóttir said. “Where we disagree is when it comes to trade and tariffs. I made it very clear that we are on the side of opening up free markets. We believe they increase the chances of improving people’s quality of life.”

While she did not go into detail about the specific points of disagreement, Gunnarsdóttir said Iceland had clearly presented its position in the discussions with U.S. counterparts.

She described the meetings overall as constructive and said the visit provided an opportunity both to strengthen bilateral dialogue and to raise issues where the two sides see matters differently.