U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his support for Sweden's accession to NATO on Wednesday during talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, amid efforts to overcome Turkey's objections to this move.
Biden, sitting next to Kristersson in the Oval Office, stated that he wants to reaffirm the United States' support for Sweden joining the alliance. He mentioned that he is "eagerly" looking forward to seeing Sweden become a member.
Kristersson thanked Biden for the invitation, stating that Sweden "greatly appreciates" his support for its membership bid.
Biden is set to begin a trip on Sunday that will include three countries, focusing on the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. There are doubts that Turkey will withdraw its opposition in time for NATO leaders to accept Sweden's membership during the summit.
Both Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, abandoning their long-standing military non-alignment policies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Membership applications must be approved by all NATO members, but Turkey and Hungary have not yet agreed to Sweden's request.
The United States and its allies are working to overcome Turkey's objections. President Erdogan has complained that supporters of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party in Sweden continue to organize protests and fund what he calls terrorist groups, which he deemed "unacceptable" for Turkey.
Sweden and Turkey are scheduled to meet in Brussels tomorrow, Thursday, to try to find a solution ahead of the NATO summit next week.
