The president of the United States, Joe Biden, expressed on Thursday his “strong support” for the requests of Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, assuring that these countries “meet all the requirements to enter” the Alliance.
The president of United States, Joe Bidengave this Thursday a resounding support to the requests for entry into NATO by Finland and Sweden, whose leaders tried to appease Turkey to prevent that country from vetoing its entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
After meeting at the White House with the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, Biden expressed this Thursday his “strong support”.
The foregoing, with the requests of both northern European countries to join NATO, by ensuring that both Stockholm and Helsinki “meet all the requirements” to join the Alliance.
Biden announced that this Thursday he will begin the process for the US Congress to ratify “quickly” entry applications, a necessary requirement to complete the accession process.
The meeting between the political leaders took place a day following the European countries presented their request.
“This is a victory for democracy”, Biden said regarding the internal process that those countries have followed, traditionally “not aligned”to make the decision to approach NATO, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Finland and Sweden will make NATO stronger”, added the president, who assured that this alliance is “relevant, effective and is needed more now than ever” in the face of Russia’s “aggression”. “An attack once morest one is an attack once morest all”, Biden recalled.
This is a historic moment for Finland, Sweden, and the world — one that will turn close partners into Allies and strengthen our collective security at this crucial time. I strongly endorse their NATO applications and will continue to support them as they seek accession. pic.twitter.com/G45hDjVTqQ
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 19, 2022
Turkey does not want
Without mentioning Turkey’s opposition to the entry of both countries into the Alliance, Biden stressed that the two Nordic countries “meet every NATO requirement, more than enough.”
The US president insisted that the entry of “new members in NATO is not a threat to any nation and never has been”, emphasizing that it is a defensive alliance.
Regarding Ankara’s decision to veto both countries’ accession to the alliance, Niinistö said he is willing to discuss all Turkish concerns and condemned the “terrorism”, a key issue raised by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We condemn terrorism in all its forms and are actively committed to combating it,” Niinistö said.
“We are ready to discuss any concerns you may have regarding our accession in an open and constructive manner,” said the Finnish president, regarding the accusations launched by Turkey, which maintains that the Nordic countries harbor terrorist groups, including members of the banned Kurdish militias.
“We expect a rapid ratification process by NATO members and we are in dialogue with all of them, including Turkey,” Andersson said, for his part.
