Biden Expresses Support for NATO Membership in 'Surprise' Meeting with Finnish President

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Sauli Niinist?, President of Finland, who visited the White House on the 9th (local time), reaffirming his support for Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The meeting took place without prior notice.

U.S. President Joe Biden is speaking at the Democratic House members' retreat held in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 1st (local time). / Photo by Yonhap News

AFP and Bloomberg reported that President Biden made a surprise appearance at the meeting between President Niinist? and Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, leading to an impromptu summit.

President Niinist? has been visiting the United States for five days since the 6th of this month. Originally, he was scheduled to meet Advisor Sullivan at the Finnish Embassy in Washington, but the venue was changed to the White House.

President Biden returned to Washington on the same day after consecutive visits to Seattle and California. Since he was scheduled to meet with Advisor Sullivan and key members of the U.S. Senate, the summit was arranged spontaneously, according to the reports.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV following the summit, President Niinist? said, "We had a lengthy conversation discussing Finland's NATO accession and the global geopolitical situation." He added, "The United States has supported us throughout the NATO accession process and will continue to do so as much as possible."

Finland abandoned its military neutrality following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has been proceeding with the NATO accession process. However, the accession has not been finalized due to the lack of approval from T?rkiye and Hungary.

Since taking office in 2012, President Niinist? has maintained steady contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is regarded as the Western leader most familiar with Putin's intentions. In 2020, when Alexei Navalny, a major Russian opposition figure and a key adversary of Putin, was poisoned, it was President Niinist? who persuaded Putin to allow Navalny to receive treatment in Germany.

However, since declaring the pursuit of NATO membership in May last year, it is reported that Niinist? has not spoken with President Putin. When asked if he was willing to resume talks with Putin, he replied, "I have always said I am ready to talk whenever there is a practical benefit, but currently, that is not the case."

The reports also stated that President Niinist? is scheduled to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others later that afternoon.