Why is Washington paying so much attention to Iceland? The answer is geography.

With fewer than 400,000 people, the island sits halfway between North America and Europe, and occupies a key position in the North Atlantic.

It lies near Greenland, a growing focus of US Arctic strategy, and at the center of the GIUK Gap, a critical maritime gateway connecting the Arctic to the Atlantic, making it a vital route for military activity.

So what does Iceland make of the US's renewed interest, and what does Reykjavik want from Washington? Eirikur Bergmann, professor of politics at Iceland's Bifrost University, spoke to DW.