President Biden, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, and President Sauli Niinistö Meet at the White House May 19,2022. Please Like, Subscribe, and Share.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that Sweden and Finland have the full backing of the United States to join NATO after both nations began the formal process of applying to the organization.
The president pledged to work with Congress and the 30 members of the world's most powerful military alliance to swiftly bring Sweden and Finland into the group.
All 30 NATO members must give unanimous approval for a country to be accepted into the organization.
The president pledged to work with Congress — which has to ratify U.S. approval of NATO bids — and the other 29 members of the world's most powerful military alliance to
swiftly bring Sweden and Finland into the group.
"There is no question, NATO is relevant, it is effective and it is needed now more than ever," Biden said following a trilateral meeting in Washington with the leaders.
The push comes as Russia's assault on Ukraine has raised fears for other countries in the region. Moscow, long wary of NATO expansion, has opposed the two nations'
plans to join the alliance. Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Finland and Sweden's entry into NATO and any "expansion of military infrastructure into this
territory will certainly cause our response."
Similarly, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that Russia "will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop
the threats to its national security arising in this regard." Both Finland and Sweden already meet many of the requirements to be NATO members. Those include having a functioning
democratic political system, a willingness to provide economic transparency and the ability to make military contributions to NATO missions.
However, all 30 NATO members must approve a country's bid for it to be accepted into the alliance.
Earlier in the week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not approve the NATO applications of both Sweden and Finland.
