Barack Obama, the President of the United States, will visit Iceland if Reykjavik is chosen as the location for the signing of a new nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia.
Kristjan Guy Burgess, assistant to Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Visir.is that no decisions have yet been taken. The ministry has nonetheless been in contact with the Americal embassy about the possible trip.
The New York Times first reported the story this week that the new treaty might be signed in Reykjavik as a symbolic gesture following Ronald Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s historic meeting in Reykjavik in 1986. Geneva and Helsinki are also possible locations.
The existing pact between the two nations expires today, so preparation of a new treaty to further reduce the number of nuclear warheads on each side is considered urgent – although there is clearly no immediate danger of a war breaking out this weekend.
no better place to sign the treaty.iceland is a fantastic place.alittle expensive but still a great place.
iceland is the best place to sign that treaty it is historical for iceland like the meeting of Reagan and Gorbachevs.And i hope that the two leaders will help Iceland in this financial crisis.
In today’s world all such meetings are simply formalities that truly do not mean a whole lot and generally a cover up for far more serious matters. A better and more meaningful visit to Iceland would be what the US/Russia and the rest of the “free world” might be able to do together to help Iceland through it’s serious financial crisis. What could be more important to the Icelandic people. They should bill them greatly for holding any other meeting there.
I dont think USA is going to help Iceland much, they dont even have a ambassador here, the US ambassador left when the crisis hit more than a year ago, Russia offered a loan but pulled the offer back, probably because of pressure from the EU who wants Iceland to give the Icesave deal a state guarantee, that is very likely to end badly for Iceland to say the least,
i think Iceland could be a good place to sign this treaty.
Wow, I was going to tell you that you are wrong Axel and that there is a US ambassador, but you are right.
http://iceland.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html
There was one back in April though:
http://minipuffin.blogspot.com/2009/04/order-of-puffin-lundisora.html
And according to the Grapevine, there should be one now:
http://www.grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/New-US-Ambassador-Appointed
But then he resigned before he arrived and no one else has been appointed:
http://www.grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/Still-no-US-ambassador
Pity the Höfði House has been gutted by fire. Maybe they can sign a new treaty in Hlemmur.
“And according to the Grapevine, there should be one now:
http://www.grapevine.is/News/ReadArticle/New-US-Ambassador-Appointed”
Connan has worked at the consulate to the European Union since 2004,
I think Iceland was supposed to crash and burn a year ago, it just stubbornly survives everything that is trown at it, it should be bankrupt by now and under control of the EU trough the IMF and UK/NL, it will be interesting to see how the reaction will be if the icesave deal is trown out of parliament, hope it will.