NATO | US Biden: Finland and Sweden meet all the conditions for NATO membership

Niinistö said that Finland is ready to negotiate with Turkey on all its concerns.

Finland and Sweden meet all the conditions for NATO membership and more, the U.S. president assured Joe Biden on Thursday at a joint press conference with the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö and the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Anderssonin with.

“It simply came to our notice then. Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger, ”Biden said.

According to him, this is due not only to the military capabilities of Finland and Sweden, but also to the fact that they are “strong, strong democracies”.

Andersson and Niinistö were on a visit to the United States on Thursday. Their joint press conference was held In the rose garden of the White House.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (left) and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson paid a joint visit to US President Joe Biden the day after the countries had applied for NATO membership.

Mr Biden also emphasized NATO’s democracy and its nature as a defense alliance. According to him, NATO is wanted, not forced.

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“Finland and Sweden will join NATO because their citizens demand it,” Biden said.

He promised that the United States would work with Finland and Sweden to combat all threats during the membership process.

Finland and Sweden submitted their applications for membership to the Secretary General of NATO To Jens Stoltenberg Wednesday morning. However, their progress is being hampered by NATO Turkey.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opposes Finland’s and Sweden’s membership of NATO, as he accuses Sweden in particular of protecting terrorists.

“We told our allies that we were going to say ‘no’ to Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership, and we are going to continue to do so,” Erdoğan said on Thursday, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu.

The application for membership will not proceed unless all 30 NATO members support it.

Read more: Haavisto: NATO discusses open door policy as a result of Turkey’s comments, Finland unable to follow the debate

Read more: Turkey’s opposition tore open the timetable for Finland’s progress towards NATO membership: this is what it is about

Biden assured that NATO’s doors would remain open to new members.

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President Niinistö, for his part, said that Finland was ready to negotiate with Turkey on all its concerns. Finland and Turkey have always had good bilateral relations, he said.

“As NATO allies, we are committed to Turkey’s security in the same way that Turkey is committed to our security,” Niinistö said. He assured that Finland takes terrorism seriously.

Niinistö says that Finland is ready to commit to NATO security guarantees and that Finland’s will to defend its country is very high.

“We take security seriously,” Niinistö said.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson spoke to the media while listening to US President Joe Biden next door.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in her speech that Sweden has chosen a new path after 200 years of non-alignment.

“My administration has come to the conclusion that the security of Swedes is best guaranteed by joining NATO,” he said.

While Biden and Niinistö focused only on security policy, Andersson also talked about Swedish companies operating in the United States and the fight against climate change.

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He received applause from the audience and Biden for telling him about the gift he brought to Biden: It’s a candlestick made from “the world’s first fossil-free steel”.

Steel company Developed by SSAB fossil-free steel production based on hydrogen reduction. Plans to convert the Oxelösund plant in Sweden to fossil-free production are well under way.

Niinistö and Biden last met in Washington in early March. Niinistö was the first head of state Biden met face to face since the start of the Russian offensive war.

It is very exceptional that the presidents of Finland and the United States meet again in such a short time.

On Thursday, Niinistö said that at the March meeting, Biden encouraged Finland to move forward in the NATO process.

The meeting also decided to intensify defense co-operation between Finland and the United States.

The President of Finland Sauli Niinistö and the President of the United States patted each other on the back. Next to the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

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