US President Joe Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson next week to talk about transatlantic security cooperation and the war in Ukraine, the White House said Saturday.
US President Joe Biden(File)
The two leaders "will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible," the White House said in a statement about the Wednesday meeting.
Sweden asked to join NATO in May 2022, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine, but its membership bid, which must be ratified by all 31 member states, has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
U.S. President Joe Biden to Host Swedish PM for Talks on NATO, Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday, July 5, for talks on transatlantic security cooperation and the war in Ukraine. The meeting comes as Sweden and Finland are seeking to join NATO, a move that has been met with opposition from Turkey and Hungary.
In a statement, the White House said that Biden and Kristersson would "review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm our view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible." The two leaders would also discuss their "shared commitment to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal war of aggression."
Sweden and Finland have been neutral countries for centuries, but they applied to join NATO in May 2022, three months after Russia invaded Ukraine. The two countries believe that joining NATO would provide them with a stronger security guarantee against Russian aggression.
However, Turkey has blocked Sweden and Finland's membership bids, citing concerns about the two countries' alleged support for Kurdish terrorist groups. Hungary has also expressed reservations about the two countries' accession to NATO.
The White House statement said that Biden and Kristersson would "discuss the importance of NATO unity and the need for all allies to support the decisions of Finland and Sweden to join the Alliance." The two leaders would also "coordinate on efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and to hold Russia accountable for its war crimes."
The meeting between Biden and Kristersson is the latest in a series of high-level discussions between the United States and its allies on the war in Ukraine and the security situation in Europe. In June, Biden hosted NATO leaders in Madrid for a summit that focused on strengthening the alliance's defense posture in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting between Biden and Kristersson is also significant because it comes just days before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The summit will be the first time that NATO leaders will meet since Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance. It is expected that the summit will focus on finalizing the accession process for Sweden and Finland and on strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture in the Baltic Sea region.
The meeting between Biden and Kristersson is a sign of the United States' strong support for Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO. The two countries' membership in the alliance would significantly strengthen NATO's presence in northern Europe and would send a strong message to Russia that its aggression will not be tolerated.
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