WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday gave a full-throated endorsement of efforts by Finland and Sweden to hitch NATO, throwing his weight behind a transfer that would rework the Western alliance.
Biden met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on the White House a day after the international locations submitted their membership purposes for admission to NATO, breaking with their long-held impartial stances in Europe.
During an occasion in the Rose Garden with the 2 leaders, Biden stated the assembly represented a “historic day.”
“In the face of aggression, NATO has not grown weaker or more divided. It has grown stronger, more united,” he said. “With Finland and Sweden’s decision to request membership in NATO, it’ll be enhanced for all time.”
The transfer by Finland and Sweden is the most recent instance of how Russia’s warfare in Ukraine has reshaped European alliances and its safety posture, strengthening alliances that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sought to weaken.
The course of of becoming a member of might take months. Any of NATO’s 30 member international locations can veto who can be a part of, and the U.S. Senate should additionally present its recommendation and consent for the U.S. to approve the transfer. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already threatened to dam each international locations’ bids.
Biden stated the U.S. could be dedicated to defending Finland and Sweden’s safety whereas it went by the appliance course of.
“We’re going to work together to remain vigilant against the threats to our shared security, and deter and confront any aggression while Finland and Sweden are in this accession process,” Biden stated.
Erdogan’s objection to Sweden and Finland becoming a member of Nato stem from Sweden’s perceived support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is banned in Turkey, and an armed group in Syria that Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK. Turkey additionally accuses the 2 international locations of harboring followers of the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara says is behind a failed navy coup in 2016.
“Finland has always had proud and good bilateral relations with Turkey,” stated Niinistö on the White House. “As NATO allies, we will commit to Turkey’s security, just as Turkey will commit to our security. We take terrorism seriously, we condemn terrorism in all its forms and we are actively engaged in combating it.”
U.S., European and NATO leaders sought to downplay the opposition from Turkey.
White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan advised reporters Wednesday that the U.S. was assured Turkey’s considerations could possibly be addressed and that the U.S. was in talks with the Turks to assist facilitate Finland and Sweden’s membership.
Patrick Smith contributed.