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President Joe Biden will receive on Thursday at the White House the Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, and the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, to discuss the request for NATO membership of both countries after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This was indicated Tuesday in a brief statement by White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.
The speed of the White House to include in Biden’s busy schedule the visit of Andersson and Niinistö shows the importance that Washington attaches to its entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
The decision by the two Scandinavian countries, which had stayed out of NATO since its inception, carries great symbolic weight and comes in the face of growing concern over Russia’s behavior following the invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has already shown its support for the entry of both countries into the Atlantic Alliance.
Sweden and Finland received NATO’s endorsement Sunday at an informal meeting in Berlin of their foreign ministers, although Turkey has been critical of both for their alleged backing of Kurdish activists and others it considers “terrorists.”
