Washington [US], July 7: US President Joe Biden has reassured Sweden of his full support in joining NATO.
"Sweden is going to make our alliance stronger," Biden said on Wednesday during Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's visit to the White House.
Biden stressed that the United States was "anxiously looking forward to Sweden's membership" after the political stalemate the last few months which has seen Sweden's accession be blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
New members must be approved unanimously by all existing NATO members.
The US leader praised Sweden for being a strong and consistent ally and sharing NATO values.
Kristersson responded by saying that Sweden does want to join NATO to "seek common protection," but that the country also feels it can provide its own assets to NATO's security as a whole.
Kristersson thanked the US president for maintaining "transatlantic unity" during the upheaval sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and praised Biden's "strong support" for Sweden's Nato bid, which is being held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Sweden's NATO bid, spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine despite long-held Swedish neutrality, was made alongside Finland, which has now been accepted into the alliance.
Anti-Islam protests in Sweden have caused considerable tensions between Stockholm and Ankara in recent months.
It is uncertain whether the dispute can be resolved at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania next Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Washington, Biden and Kristersson also planned to discuss support for Ukraine, relations with China as well as climate change and new technologies. After his meeting with the US president, Kristersson said that he and Biden had agreed that the "Vilnius meeting in a week is certainly appropriate time for Sweden's entry, but only Turkey can take Turkey's decisions."
The Oval Office meeting kicks off a string of diplomatic events for Biden, centred on Nato. He leaves Sunday for a one-day trip to close ally Britain, then attends the Nato summit in Vilnius and finishes up with a stop in the alliance's newest member Finland.
Both Finland and Sweden dropped their official neutrality to request Nato entry in response to Russia's 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Biden sees the bloc's expansion and its mammoth efforts to arm and support Ukraine's forces as a strategic defeat for Moscow - and his own biggest diplomatic achievement.
But expansion of Nato requires unanimous ratification from the existing 31 members.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say whether Biden planned to reach out directly to his counterparts in Turkey and Hungary before the summit.
"He's been pretty, pretty steadfast" on the need to approve the application, Jean-Pierre said. "Sweden is a strong, capable defense partner that shares Nato's values."
Source: Qatar Tribune