US President Joe Biden is on the side of Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (right) and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (left). Photo: EFE
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Thursday his “strong support” on the applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO, by ensuring that these countries “meet all the requirements to enter” the Alliance.
Biden also announced that this Thursday he will begin the process to the U.S. Congress “quick” to validate input requests of these Nordic countries in the Atlantic Alliance, a necessary requirement to complete the accession process.
After meeting in the White House with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö, and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, the president assured that his requests were there “complete, intact and unbroken support of the United States “.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, after meeting at the White House. Photo: Bloomberg
“This is the one victory in democracy“, Biden said about the internal process followed by these traditionally” not aligned “countries to make a decision to approach NATO, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Finland and Sweden will strengthen NATO,” the president added, assuring that this alliance is “relevant, effective and more necessary now than ever” in the face of Russia’s “aggression”.
Not to mention the Turkish opposition With both countries joining the Alliance, Biden stressed that the two Nordic countries “fulfill every NATO requirement, so far.”
The U.S. government will this Thursday deliver to the nation’s Congress “NATO access reports of both countries, so that the Senate can act quickly and effectively to advise and approve the (amendment of) the Treaty” that founded the Alliance, Biden explained. .
The Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, after the meeting at the White House. Photo: AFP
That step is necessary to expand NATO, and the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, hopes this week that this process, which requires a two-thirds majority in the senatewill be completed before Congress recesses in August.
In his press briefing with the leaders of Finland and Sweden, where they did not receive questions, Biden insisted that the entry of “new NATO members is not a threat to any country and never has been“, emphasizing that it is a defensive alliance.
End of a historical period
Finland and Sweden formally submitted their bids for NATO membership on Wednesday morning, set aside decades of strategic neutrality to embrace the military alliance in an incredibly rapid change caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish and Swedish envoys delivered letters expressing their countries ’interest in joining NATO to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg said that NATO wants to accept both countries in an accelerated process.
The two Nordic states, which have close ties with NATO but have remained militarily out of alignment for a long time, have seen public opinion lean heavily in favor of joining the alliance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. reversed the security of Europe.
Source: EFE and The New York Times
Source: Clarin