Fresh from a pivotal summit of NATO leaders in Lithuania, President Biden met in Finland, the alliance’s newest member, with Nordic leaders, who have drawn closer militarily to the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Mr. Biden held talks with the Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto, before attending a summit with other Nordic leaders, including the prime ministers of Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
In a statement, the Nordic countries and the United States reiterated their “unwavering support” for Ukraine and vowed to continue for “as long as it takes.”
At the start of his meeting with Mr. Niinisto, Mr. Biden said that Finland was “an incredible asset to NATO,” and that their two countries are “standing for shared democratic values.”
The Finnish leader praised Mr. Biden, saying it was “very impressive to experience the way you created unity” at the NATO summit, which produced a stronger commitment from the alliance to grant Ukraine eventual membership.
Finland’s entry into NATO is a rebuke to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has cited the alliance’s eastward expansion as a reason for launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and is also a sign of how the war has brought new energy to the alliance.
Earlier this week, Turkey dropped its objections to Sweden joining, raising that nation’s hopes of rapid accession. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, later made it clear that the necessary vote in the Turkish Parliament was unlikely to happen before October. He also said Sweden still had to take steps to win over a majority of lawmakers, hinting that there could be other hurdles before the deal is done.
Finland and Sweden had jointly asked to join the military alliance last year, abandoning their longstanding policies of military nonalignment in the face of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Turkey held up the process, however, arguing that Sweden was harboring Kurdish militants and others it considers terrorists. Finland then pursued its bid separately, and was able to join NATO in April.
Despite the new concerns about Turkey’s willingness to allow Sweden into NATO, Mr. Biden told reporters in Lithuania before boarding Air Force One for Helsinki that the United States had achieved its goals at the NATO conference, including clearing a path for Sweden to join. And in a speech following the end of the summit, he said, “President Erdogan kept his word.”
The alliance also approved new spending goals and its most ambitious military plans for Europe’s defense since the Cold War. On the thorny issue of Ukraine, all 31 member states agreed that the country eventually would be invited to join NATO, though Mr. Biden and others beat back an attempt by Poland and the Baltic States to set the timetable that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine had wanted.
Mr. Biden is expected to return to Washington late Thursday, after a final news conference with Mr. Niinisto.
Johanna Lemola contributed reporting.
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