U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States fully supports Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO after both nations began the formal process of applying to the alliance.
Biden, flanked by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, said the two countries would “make NATO stronger.” He called their moves to join the pact a “victory for democracy.”
The president pledged to work with Congress - which has to ratify U.S. approval of NATO bids - and the other 29 members of the world’s most powerful military alliance to swiftly bring Sweden and Finland into the group.
“There is no question, NATO is relevant, it is effective and it is needed now more than ever,” Biden said following a trilateral meeting in Washington with the leaders.
Both Finland and Sweden already meet many of the requirements to be NATO members. Those include having a functioning democratic political system, a willingness to provide economic transparency and the ability to make military contributions to NATO missions.
However, all 30 NATO members must approve a country’s bid for it to be accepted into the alliance.
