Iceland premier calls Trump’s map ‘absurd,’ rejects sovereignty jokes

Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir on Tuesday condemned a map shared by US President Donald Trump that depicted several countries, including Iceland, as part of the US.

“In my view, the undertone of what we are seeing here is absurd,” Frostadottir said at a news conference, according to Icelandic broadcaster RUV.

"There is nothing funny or normal about making jokes about the sovereignty of states, especially today, when sovereignty cannot be taken for granted," she said, describing Trump's social media post as an "insult.”

The map showed the US, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean covered by the American flag, with the entire area labeled “United States of America.”

Frostadottir said the US ambassador to Iceland had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry over the post to “make it absolutely clear that, from our perspective, this was completely unacceptable.”

“No one else can decide or bargain over our independence or sovereignty. We do that on our own terms,” she added.

Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir also reiterated Iceland's support for Greenland and said Reykjavik would continue to stand with its people.

At the same time, she said Iceland wanted to maintain cooperation with the US in areas including trade and defense.

Frostadottir said Iceland had not experienced problems in its direct relations with the US but agreed that Trump's post should not be dismissed as insignificant.