Biden 'fully supports' Sweden's NATO bid as he hosts its prime minister at White House

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden hosted Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the White House on Wednesday and said he "fully supports" the Nordic country's NATO membership bid.

"Sweden is going to make our alliance stronger," Biden told reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and added he was "anxiously looking forward" to Sweden's NATO membership.

Kristersson said his government "highly appreciate" the US' "strong support" for its NATO accession.

"We do seek common protection, but we also do think that we have things to contribute with to be a security provider for the whole of NATO," he said. "I very much look forward to our talks here today."

Kristersson's visit came one day before NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes a meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland in Brussels, concerning Sweden's bid to join the alliance ahead of a NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11 - 12.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara's security concerns on terrorism.

Hungary said it postponed Sweden's NATO accession bid to its autumn legislation.