Biden formalizes US support for Finland, Sweden to join NATO
President Joe Biden formally welcomed Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance on Tuesday as he signed the instruments of ratification giving formal US support to the Nordic countries’ entry into the mutual defense pact, part of a reshaping of the European security posture following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“By seeking to join NATO, Finland and Sweden are making a sacred commitment that an attack on one is an attack on all,” Biden said at the signing, calling the partnership the “indispensable alliance.”
The United States became the 23rd ally to approve NATO membership for the two countries. Biden said he spoke with the leaders of both nations before signing the ratification and urged the remaining NATO members to complete their own ratification process “as quickly as possible.”
The Senate last week approved the two, once non-aligned nations, joining the alliance in a rare 95-1 vote that Biden said showed the world that “America can still do great things” with a sense of political unity.
The countries applied for NATO membership earlier this year to ensure their security in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Ukraine.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization rules require consent from all of its 30 existing members before Finland and Sweden can officially join the alliance, which is expected in the coming months.
The candidacies of the two prosperous northern European nations have won ratification from more than half of NATO member states in the roughly three months since the two applied.
It marks one of the fastest expansions of the mutual defense pact between the United States and democratic allies in Europe in its 73-year history.
American government and defense officials consider the two countries to be net “security providers”, which strengthens NATO’s defense position in the Baltics in particular. Finland is expected to exceed NATO’s target of 2% of gross domestic product for defense spending by 2022, and Sweden has committed to meeting the 2% target.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May, shedding their longstanding stance of military non-alignment.
It was a major change in security arrangements for the two countries after neighboring Russia launched its war on Ukraine in late February.
Biden encouraged their accession and welcomed the two countries’ heads of government to the White House in May, standing side by side with them in a show of US support.
The United States and its European allies have rallied with newfound partnerships in the face of Putin’s military invasion, as well as the Russian leader’s sweeping statements this year condemning NATO, issuing veiled reminders of Russia’s nuclear arsenal and asserting Russia’s historic territorial claims to many of its territories. neighbors.