President Joe Biden will host Sweden’s prime minister at the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States presses for the Nordic nation’s entry into NATO, a bid stalled by objections from two members of the Western military alliance.
Biden and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson plan to “review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said a statement Saturday. The leaders also will discuss the war in Ukraine and China.
Sweden and neighbour Finland dropped their long-standing military neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and applied for NATO membership, seeking protection under the organisation’s security umbrella. Finland, which shares an 832-mile (1,340 kilometre) border with Russia, joined NATO in April. Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has seen its ascension delayed by Turkiye and Hungary; NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand.
NATO had hoped the road to Sweden’s membership would be smoothed out before the alliance’s summit July 11-12 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
