U.S. Military to Reopen Base in Iceland?
The U.S. government has expressed its opinion to Icelandic authorities that considering increased Russian aggression there may be reason to reopen the U.S. Navy base in Iceland.
The U.S. government has expressed its opinion to Icelandic authorities that considering increased Russian aggression there may be reason to reopen the U.S. Navy base in Iceland; the U.S. Armed Forces operated the Naval Air Station in Keflavík as a NATO base from 1951 to 2006. Its location was considered to be of great importance during the Cold War, Iceland Review reports.
“The Russians have long done transit flights where they pass close by Iceland,” Work said, “but they’ve recently made several circumnavigation flights.” As a result, “Iceland is interested in increasing military cooperation,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work said in an interview on DefenseNews.
Work is currently on a seven-day visit to the Nordic countries and northern Europe. He discussed Russian concerns with representatives of NATO members Denmark, Iceland and Norway, along with those of the neutral Finland and Sweden, in Oslo on Tuesday.