Iceland has summoned the United States ambassador after President Donald Trump shared a map on social media that appeared to show the country as part of American territory.
Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said in a statement to AFP on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir summoned the US envoy the previous day to convey a firm objection, describing the image as “entirely unacceptable.”
The map, posted by Trump on Monday without any accompanying explanation, showed a large section of North America including Canada, Greenland, Mexico, parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and Iceland shaded in the colours of the US flag, with the whole landmass labelled “United States of America.”
Iceland, which has had no standing military since becoming independent in 1944, depends heavily on the US for its defence. The country is a founding NATO member and maintains a bilateral defence pact with Washington dating back to 1951.
The map has added to unease already stirred by Trump’s repeated suggestions that the US could take control of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory located close to Iceland as well as ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking to reporters in Greenland on Monday night, reiterated that both the Greenlandic government and its people have consistently rejected the idea of becoming American, adding that she was happy to restate that position in light of the map.
