Sauli Ninistö, President of Finland▶ Click here for a larger view
US President Joe Biden announced on the 13th (local time) that he supports Finland and Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The US said it was working to clarify Turkey’s position on Turkey, which had expressed opposition to the two countries’ accession.
President Biden spoke on the phone with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Ninistö on the same day to discuss security cooperation.
In the call, President Biden emphasized support for NATO’s openness policy and the right of Finland and Sweden to shape their future and foreign policy, the White House said.
Finland, which is a military neutral country in northern Europe and has a 1,300km border with Russia, changed its existing policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and officially joined NATO on the 12th.
Sweden, a neighboring country to Finland, is also expected to apply for NATO membership on the 16th.
Founded in April 1949, NATO is a security alliance formed by the West, led by the United States, against the Warsaw Pact formed by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.
While Russia strongly opposes the two countries’ membership in NATO, NATO is expected to discuss the issue at a meeting of foreign ministers from the 14th to the 15th.
At a time when NATO promised to join the two countries quickly, there is also an observation that the discussion on the issue of membership is going to speed up as the US also expressed support for it.
However, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on the same day that Finland and Sweden had a negative stance on NATO accession.
According to NATO rules, membership in a new member state must be unanimous by the existing member states.
White House press secretary Jen Saki said in a briefing that the two countries’ accession had widespread support from NATO members and that Turkey was working to clarify Turkey’s position.
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