President Biden and the prime minister of Sweden met on the White House on Wednesday, throughout every week of diplomacy by the 2 leaders to influence opponents to permit the Nordic nation to hitch NATO.
In a gathering within the Oval Office, President Biden advised Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden that the nation was a “valued friend and partner” and that he’s “anxiously looking forward to your membership” in NATO. But “any decision on NATO membership is between the 31 allies,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, advised reporters in a briefing.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Kristersson share the conviction that Sweden ought to be a part of NATO shortly, in addition to their dedication to supporting Ukraine. Sweden utilized to hitch NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization this yr for a similar cause, after overcoming objections from Turkey, however Turkey and Hungary have delayed Sweden’s bid to hitch the alliance. The White House assembly got here every week earlier than a NATO summit in Lithuania, which Mr. Biden plans to attend. He is scheduled to go to Britain and Finland on the identical journey.
The American and Swedish leaders will pursue their efforts for Sweden on Thursday in Brussels, the place the NATO secretary common, Jens Stoltenberg, has scheduled a gathering with senior officers from Sweden, Finland and Turkey, in line with The Associated Press.
High-level talks held final month in Turkey yielded no obvious progress towards approving Sweden’s utility. At the time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey stated his place wouldn’t change except Sweden took a harder stance on pro-Kurdish protests in its capital, Stockholm.
Though Mr. Erdogan stated Sweden had taken steps in the correct course towards a NATO bid — amending its structure, strengthening its anti-terrorism laws and lifting an arms embargo on Turkey — he stated in a cellphone name with the Dutch prime minister that the continued pro-Kurdish protests had “negated” these steps, the Twitter account of the Turkish presidency reported on Wednesday.
If Sweden have been to hitch NATO, it might be a severe rebuke to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Putin has lengthy fought the growth of the alliance, however his invasion of Ukraine is fueling it as a substitute.
Source: www.nytimes.com