Describing the world as facing a pivotal moment in history, President Biden on Thursday during a visit to Finland vowed to defend “every inch” of the union’s territory, ending the trip. Europe has embodied the new energy of the alliance since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Mr. Biden arrived in Finland, NATO’s newest member, having just attended the pivotal meeting of NATO leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the leaders worked hard to show solidarity in support. Ukraine. At a press conference with Finnish president Sauli Niinisto, Biden described the current moment as “an inflection point” where “the decisions we make now will determine the historic course of the future.” the next four, five, six decades. “
“At this pivotal moment in history, this inflection point, the world is watching, are we doing the important hard work of creating a better future? We will stand together, shall we stand together? Will we commit to our course?” Mr. Biden said.
Finland’s entry to NATO is a strong rebuke to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who cited it joint defense allianceeastward expansion as a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Biden promised his Finnish counterpart that “as your ally, we want the Finnish people to know that the United States is committed to Finland, committed to NATO.”
“We will defend every inch of NATO territory, including Finland,” he said.
Ukraine is also looking to join NATO. At the summit in Vilnius, NATO member states made the strongest commitment that Ukraine would become a member, although they did not provide a framework for when or how that would happen.
For the first time, Mr. Biden had some advice for Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, Putin’s former food supplier and head of the Wagner force, who led the uprising against the Russian army. “If I were him, I would be careful with what he eats,” he said.
Asked by a reporter about his administration’s efforts to free Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter that the United States had declared “wrongful arrests,” Biden said he was serious. in negotiating a prisoner exchange.
“I am serious about doing all I can to free Americans who are being held illegally in Russia – or anywhere else,” he said. “And that process is underway.”
Last week, USA confirm that it is in the negotiations with Russia about a possible swap, but cautioned that the discussions have yet to produce “a clear road map to a solution”. That comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said the two countries were in touch about the possibility of a swap.
Mr. Biden held talks with Mr. Niinisto, before attending a summit with other Nordic leaders, including the prime ministers of Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. He is expected to return to Washington late Thursday after his final press conference with Mr. Niinisto.
Earlier this week, Türkiye dropped its opposition to Sweden’s entry into NATO, raising hopes of a speedy accession. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later made it clear that the necessary vote in the Turkish Parliament is unlikely to take place before October. He also said Sweden still had to take steps to win it. approved by a majority of lawmakers, hinting that there could be other roadblocks before the deal is done.
Finland and Sweden jointly requested to join a military alliance last year, abandoning longstanding policies of military non-alignment in the face of Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. However, Turkey has delayed the process, arguing that Sweden is harboring Kurdish fighters and others it considers terrorists. Finland then pursued its bid separately and was able to join NATO in April.
David E. Sanger And Gabriela Sa Pessoa contribution report.
