President Biden said Thursday Finland and Sweden have the “full, total, complete backing” of the United States for their application to join NATO, the alliance that has been the cornerstone of Western defense since World War II.
Biden, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson spoke at the White House Rose Garden; Biden said he was sending paperwork to Congress on Thursday to facilitate ratification of their bids.
“Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger,” Biden said. “And a strong, united NATO is the foundation of America’s security.”
The decision to ratify both country’s bids into NATO will be a rare bipartisan success, as both Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have expressed support of the measure.
“I think the United States ought to be first in line to ratify the treaty for both these countries to join,” McConnell said after meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday.
Months into the war in Ukraine, Turkey still stands in the way on NATO expansion
The two countries applied to join the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but their membership is far from assured. Turkey, which is also a NATO member, has said it will veto any application by the two Nordic nations because of their support of Kurdish groups that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regards as terrorist organizations.
