Iceland condemns Trump map showing country under U.S. flag

HELSINKI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir and Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir on Tuesday condemned a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump showing Iceland and several neighboring countries covered by the U.S. flag, saying the post should be taken seriously. Frostadottir told a government press conference Tuesday morning that the message conveyed by the image was "absurd" and described it as an insult to Icelanders, Canadians and Greenlanders. "There is nothing funny or normal about making fun of the sovereignty of states," she said. Gunnarsdottir said Iceland had sent a clear message to the United States that the post was "completely unacceptable." She said Iceland is a sovereign and independent state responsible for its own destiny, adding that no other country could determine how Iceland handles its independence or sovereignty. "If this is supposed to be a joke, then it is a bad joke," Gunnarsdottir said. Gunnarsdottir summoned U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Billy Long for a meeting on Monday after Trump published the image on his social media platform Truth Social. She said Iceland's position had been explicitly conveyed to the ambassador. Long took up his post as U.S. ambassador to Iceland last month. Trump posted a map on Monday showing the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Central America covered by the U.S. flag.