Biden: Sweden and Finland ‘make Nato stronger’
Joe Biden says he’s “proud” to support the admission of Sweden and Finland to the Nato defense alliance.
The president has been speaking at the White House in a trilateral press conference with Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson and Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö, saying it’s a “momentous day”:
It’s a very, very great day. I’m proud to welcome and offer the strong support of the United States for the applications of two great democracies, and two close, highly capable partners, to join the strongest, most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world.
Two proud independent countries exercising their sovereign right all states possess to decide their own security.
Biden said he and his fellow leaders had “a good discussion” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “strengthening of transatlantic security” but said talks with the two nations predated Russia’s aggression, which he said had “ruptured” Europe’s security.
We have consulted closely at every stage as Sweden and Finland made their determination and today I’m proud to assure them that they have the full, total complete backing of the United States of America.
He said his administration was submitting reports on Nato accession to congress so the Seante can “efficiently and quickly move on advising and consenting to the treaty”:
The bottom line is simple. Finland and Sweden make Nato stronger… a strong, united Nato is the foundation of America’s security.
New members joining Nato is not a threat to any nation. It never has been. Nato’s purpose is to defend against aggression.
As Nancy Pelosi and Democratic lawmakers prepare to speak to the media about rising gun crime and domestic terrorism in the wake of the Buffalo massacre comes news of another multiple shooting: at a high school graduation in Tennessee.
According to the Associated Press, one person was killed and another injured in the incident Wednesday night at Middle Tennessee state university, where graduating seniors at Murfreesboro’s Riverdale high school were being honored.
The injured victim is hospitalized in critical condition, the AP says. It was not immediately known if the victims were students.
Rutherford county sheriff Mike Fitzhugh told local media that the shooter or shooters remain at large. The incident occurred as attendees were leaving at the conclusion of the ceremony.
The shooting at MTSU is a tragedy for our community. We mourned with the family who lost a loved one.
At 8:51 p.m. MPD and MTSU Police responded to a shooting on campus and found two people suffering from gunshot wounds near the Murphy Center. 1 dead 1 injured. READ MORE BELOW pic.twitter.com/3aBQlBb63P— Murfreesboro TN Police Department (@MboroPoliceDept) May 19, 2022
The 24 February Russian invasion of Ukraine was, Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö added, revelatory:
The masks have fallen and we see only the cold faces of war.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed Europe’s and our security environment.
Finland takes the step of Nato membership in order to strengthen not only its own security, but to also to widen transatlantic security. This is not a threat to anybody.
Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson also took a swipe at Russia’s invasion, which she said was “a watershed moment” for her nation:
The situation in Ukraine reminds us of the darkest days in European history.
[But] over these past months we have shown transatlantic unity and strength at its best and have responded forcefully to Russia’s aggression by providing unprecedent support for Ukraine.
She acknowledged that her country’s decision to seek Nato membership was a marked diversion from its centuries-long stance of neutrality:
After 200 years of military non-alignment, Sweden has chosen a new path.
Russia’s full-scale aggression against a sovereign and democratic neighbor was a watershed moment for Sweden.
The security of the Swedish people will be best protected within the Nato alliance.
With Sweden and Finland as members Nato will also be stronger. We are champions of freedom, democracy and human rights.
Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö said his country had decided to seek Nato membership after a “rapid but very thorough process”:
The decision was made with an overwhelming parliamentary majority and huge, strong popular support.
Finland will be a strong Nato ally. We take our security very seriously. The Finnish armed forces are one of the strongest in Europe.
Turkey has said it will reject the Finnish and Swedish applications because of their supposed support for the Kurdish Workers’ party (PKK), which the country regards as a terrorist organization.
Addressing Turkey directly, Niinistö said:
Finland has always had broad and good bilateral relations with Turkey. As Nato allies we will commit to Turkey’s security, just as Turkey will commit to our security.
We take terrorism seriously. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and we are actively engaged in combatting it.
We are open to discussing all the concerns Turkey may have concerning our membership in an open and productive manner.
Joe Biden said that the Russian invasion eliminated any doubt he said had arisen in recent decades over the purpose of the mutual defense alliance.
Was Nato still relevant? Was it still effective? Is it still needed in the 21st century world? Today there is no question. Nato is relevant. It is effective and is more needed now than ever.
The indispensable alliance of decades past is still the indispensable alliance for the world we face today. And I would argue tomorrow as well. And the decision of Sweden and Finland, the one they have made, is testament to that commitment.
This is about the future. It’s about a revived Nato that has the tools and resources, the clarity and conviction, to defend our shared values and lead the world.
He said the two Nordic nations possessed all the attributes needed to make them valuable members of an alliance that would grow to 32 member states, if they are admitted:
Sweden and Finland have strong democratic institutions, strong militaries and strong and transparent economies, and a strong moral sense of what is right.
They meet every Nato requirement and then some. Having two new Nato members in the high north will enhance the security of our alliance and deepen our security cooperation across the board.
Biden: Sweden and Finland ‘make Nato stronger’
Joe Biden says he’s “proud” to support the admission of Sweden and Finland to the Nato defense alliance.
The president has been speaking at the White House in a trilateral press conference with Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson and Finland’s president Sauli Niinistö, saying it’s a “momentous day”:
It’s a very, very great day. I’m proud to welcome and offer the strong support of the United States for the applications of two great democracies, and two close, highly capable partners, to join the strongest, most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world.
Two proud independent countries exercising their sovereign right all states possess to decide their own security.
Biden said he and his fellow leaders had “a good discussion” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “strengthening of transatlantic security” but said talks with the two nations predated Russia’s aggression, which he said had “ruptured” Europe’s security.
We have consulted closely at every stage as Sweden and Finland made their determination and today I’m proud to assure them that they have the full, total complete backing of the United States of America.
He said his administration was submitting reports on Nato accession to congress so the Seante can “efficiently and quickly move on advising and consenting to the treaty”:
The bottom line is simple. Finland and Sweden make Nato stronger… a strong, united Nato is the foundation of America’s security.
New members joining Nato is not a threat to any nation. It never has been. Nato’s purpose is to defend against aggression.
The White House will lay out in further detail later today its plans to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, a day after Joe Biden invoked the defense production act to force manufacturers to ramp up supply.
In another move on Wednesday, the House approved a $28m emergency funding bill to address the crisis, but its fate appears uncertain in a divided Senate.
The White House call to reporters around lunchtime is expected to address planned next steps in the Biden administration’s battle to tackle the shortage, which is weighing on the president’s approval ratings along with raging inflation and soaring gas prices.
My colleague Eric Berger has this helpful explainer about what’s caused the baby formula shortage and what parents can do about it:
Senate set to approve $40bn Ukraine aid package today
A $40bn package of military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and its allies was on the cusp of Senate passage Thursday.
The vote later today would give final congressional approval to the package, three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller $33bn version.
The House approved it last week after beefing up defense and humanitarian expenditures, and Senate passage was not in doubt, though a small group of Republicans was expected to vote no, the Associated Press reports.
It includes the Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who used procedural tactics to thwart quick passage of the bill last week, and who was branded “repugnant” by Democratic senate majority leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hits at Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for delaying $40 billion Ukraine aid bill:
“It is repugnant … For Senator Paul to delay Ukraine funding for purely political motives is to only strengthen Putin’s hand.” pic.twitter.com/R8y5jCsfzz
— The Recount (@therecount) May 18, 2022
Notably, Mitch McConnell, the Republican senate minority leader who visited Kyiv last weekend, and who has also urged swift approval of the package, did not leap to his colleague’s defense.
Once passed, Biden will swiftly sign the measure, which the AP says brings to $54bn US spending on the conflict, in excess of the amount spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
We’ll hear more later from Nancy Pelosi and Democratic lawmakers about efforts to combat hate speech and the growth of “homegrown violent extremism,” amplified by Saturday’s racist massacre of 10 people by an alleged white supremacist gunman at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
The House passed the domestic terrorism bill late on Wednesday, which seeks to bolster federal resources to tackle extremist violence in the US and create new offenses specifically in that category.
But only one House Republican, Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, voted in favor, and the bill is unlikely to find much Republican support in the equally divided Senate, where it would need 60 votes to pass. The party has routinely rejected any kind of measure involving gun restrictions.
Pelosi will host a press conference at lunchtime with other congressional leaders to discuss the Buffalo shooting and its aftermath.
Some states are not waiting for action in Washington DC. New York’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, has unveiled what she called a “comprehensive plan to combat domestic terrorism and prevent gun violence” for the state.
Meanwhile, the alleged Buffalo killer, Payton Gendron, 18, who is white, appeared briefly in court Thursday after a grand jury indicted him yesterday on a first-degree murder charge.
Gendron, wearing orange clothing and mask, was silent throughout the short proceeding and was sent back to jail. Somebody shouted “Payton you’re a coward!” as he was led out, the Associated Press reported.
Read more:
Turkey says it rejects Nordic nations’ Nato application
Will Nato get its two new members, Sweden and Finland? We’ll get an update shortly from Joe Biden and the Nordic nations’ respective leaders, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and President Sauli Niinistö, who’ve been meeting Thursday morning at the White House.
The US is all in on expanding the western mutual defense alliance, Biden tweeting yesterday that he “strongly supported” the applications following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
I strongly support the historic applications from Finland and Sweden for membership in NATO. I look forward to welcoming President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to Washington tomorrow so that we can further discuss their applications and European security.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 18, 2022
But Turkey has this morning thrown a wrench into the works, with reports emerging that it’s told allies it rejects Sweden and Finland’s applications.
“We have told allies that we will say no,” Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told students, according to Reuters.
It’s uncertain to what degree Turkey’s stance could delay or even derail the process. We’re hoping for more clarity when Biden and his fellow leaders speak in short order in the Rose Garden.
Turkey appears to be the only holdout. None of the other 30 Nato members have raised objections, publicly at least, with some appearing extremely enthusiastic. The Baltic state of Estonia, long under Moscow’s shadow, can’t seem to wait:
Meanwhile, my colleague Patrick Wintour has taken this in-depth look at why Turkey is objecting, and the likely consequences of the move he says “could tangle Nato up in knots for months.”
Read more:
Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday edition of our US politics blog!
Nato is on the cusp of adding two new members to the mutual defense alliance and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland are meeting Joe Biden at the White House as we speak to discuss the security of Europe.
The two Nordic nations say they’ve been forced into the decision by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Biden is backing the move, tweeting yesterday that: “I strongly support the historic application.”
But Turkey is saying it doesn’t approve, and could yet derail or delay the process. We’ll hear from the three leaders in the Rose Garden shortly, before Biden hops on Air Force One to Anchorage, Alaska, en route to Seoul and meetings in the coming days with leaders of South Korea and Japan.
The Ukraine conflict, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and China’s growing influence, in the region will be on the president’s agenda there. You can follow today’s developments in Russia’s war in our live blog here.
There’s plenty going on in the US as Biden takes his leave:
- Lawmakers are grappling with the aftermath of the weekend’s racist massacre at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store. The House yesterday passed a domestic terrorism bill, and Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic politicians will speak at lunchtime. The alleged killer, meanwhile, is in court this morning.
- The Biden administration has taken steps to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, invoking the 1950s-era defense production act to force manufacturers to ramp up supply. The House also passed a $28m emergency funding bill last night to address the crisis.
- Primary vote counting continues in Pennsylvania where Donald Trump’s approved candidate and TV doctor Mehmet Oz is locked in a tight race with David McCormick for the Republican senate nomination.
- We’ll hear from the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, and the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, as they “gaggle” with reporters on the flight to Alaska.