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Katrin Jakobsdottir and Mike Pence

Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir will skip an upcoming visit from Vice PresidentMike Pencedue to prior commitments out of the country, in a move she said is in no way related to the administration of PresidentDonald Trump.

Jakosdottir is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the Council of Nordic Trade Unions’ annual meeting in Sweden on Sept. 3, according to theAssociated Press.

Pence, meanwhile, will visit Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík on Sept. 4, making him the first American vice president to visit the country since 1983.

Jakobsdóttir, 43, toldIcelandic broadcaster RÚVthat she squeezed the conference into her schedule “very long ago” and felt it important to attend because she had “made workplace matters a personal issue.”

Jakobsdóttir added that her skipping Pence’s meeting had “absolutely” nothing to do with politics — though her party, Left Green, opposes Iceland’s involvement in NATO and Pence is visiting in part to discuss NATO’s efforts to counter Russian aggression in the region.

Still, historian Thor Whitehead told the AP that the move was “unprecedented.”

“I doubt any other Western leader would decide to address a friendly conference abroad instead of welcoming a major foreign ally,” he said.

The AP also noted that Jakobsdóttir’s party supports progressive issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights and climate change, in contrast with the Trump White House’s position on the same.

Pence, 60, announced last week that he would be traveling to Iceland, the United Kingdom and Ireland in September.

A statement from his office said his Iceland visit was to highlight the country’s “strategic importance in the Arctic, NATO’s efforts to counter Russian aggression in the region, and opportunities to expand mutual trade and investment.”

A spokeswoman for Pence did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

source: people.com