Ávarp utanríkisráðherra í Höfða

Ávarp utanríkisráðherra, Valgerðar Sverrisdóttur,

HÖFÐA

12. október 2006

The Honourable Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, Ladies and Gentlemen

First, please allow me to say what a great privilege it is to share this lunch with you Mr. Gorbachev.  Your contribution to peace and security at the close of the twentieth century was clearly stated by the Nobel Peace Prize Commission in 1990, which spoke of your “manifold personal contributions and efforts on behalf of the Soviet Union” to peace.

It seems a lifetime ago that you came here as the leader of the Soviet Union.  Part of the reason for the feeling of distance is, of course, the rapid and dramatic course of events since that time.  Since then, Eastern Europe has embarked on a difficult process of transition and restructuring.  The fact that this process has largely been peaceful owes much to your personal role, Mr. Gorbachev.

There are many other unresolved issues on the European continent which will tax the inventiveness of statesmen and stateswomen.  One only needs to look at the difficult situation in the Caucasus and the present dispute between Georgia and the Russian Federation. But if leaders on all sides can bring to bear the patience and determination to find peaceful solutions, which you Mr. Gorbachev were master of, then conflict can be avoided. 

Honourable Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Iceland’s appearance in the world media was fairly rare in 1986. And it was still rarer for us to act as a venue for major international events.  There was Spassky and Fischer in 1972.  And then there was the meeting here in Höfði in 1986.  In both cases, Iceland was invaded by the world’s press. I will not go back over the preparations which were carried out with barely twelve days’ notice.  I am sure you will hear of these from others.  As with the Chess match of the century, we were able to bask in the glare of world press attention. 

But for me there is a clear difference between these two events – Spassky –Fischer and the Höfði meeting, though both played a part in giving Iceland a higher profile in the international media.

For the chess match we were just a venue. But the Höfði meeting was very different in nature. Though not direct participants, we were aware that the negotiations in Reykjavik and those that came subsequently, were part of a seismic shift in international relations, which touched most nations, but especially Europe. 

The holding of this meeting on disarmament in Iceland, situated as far from a continent as you can get, highlighted the fact that international peace and security, and the lack of it, affects every nation.   While we were in no sense participants in the talks, the process which they set in train had as much significance for Iceland as for every other European country.

The ramifications of 1986 and other important meetings during that period are still under way.  The departure of US forces from Icelandic soil only two weeks ago was a direct consequence.

Today’s world is very different from the world of 1986. The end of the Cold War marked a new beginning for the people of Europe, and the meeting in this house between you, Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Reagan, was instrumental to that change. It was a meeting worth a commemorating lunch.

Thank you.