US President Joe Biden has expressed his support for Finland and Sweden’s request of membership to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“We warmly welcome and strongly support the historic applications of Finland and Sweden,” Biden said in a statement.
“The two countries have long been faithful partners of the United States,” Biden said in a statement.
Finland and Sweden have maintained a neutral line following a policy of military non-alignmentism for 74 years and maintained cooperative relations without joining NATO however have now decided to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Biden has consistently expressed his support for the two countries’ membership in NATO, through phone calls, etc.
President Biden is expected to reaffirm his strong support in a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Saulini Nistö at the White House on the 19th.
According to NATO regulations, membership in a new member country requires unanimous approval from the existing 30 member countries, but Turkey’s opposition is a factor.
Turkey has taken a negative stance against the two countries’ membership in NATO, citing Finland and Sweden’s support of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group that is carrying out a separatist movement within the country.