Biden Submits Fin/Swe NATO Bids To Congress For Ratification

US President Biden, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö have delivered a trilateral press conference from the White House Rose Garden.

• Biden: 'They [Sweden and Finland] meet every NATO requirement, and then some.'
  • He says: 'Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger.'
• Biden says that the three countries consulted closely during the application process.
• Biden announces: 'Today my administration is submitting to the US Congress reports on NATO accession on both countries so the Senate can move quickly and efficiently on advising and consenting to the treaty.'
• Biden says that Article 5 (collective security pact) is the core of US national security and says: 'The United States will never fail in our pledge to defend every single inch of NATO territory.'
• Biden continues: 'Let me be clear: New nations joining NATO are not a threat to any nation.'
• Biden makes it clear that Finland and Sweden will both be covered by Article 5 security guarantees upon accession to the alliance and stresses that they will be protected in the interim period, but does not outline any specific security guarantees.
• Niinisto: 'We hope for strong support from all allies and a swift ratification of our membership.'
• Niinisto: 'Turkish leadership recently expressed concern about our membership application. We take terrorism seriously and are actively engaged in combatting it. We are open to discussing all the concerns that Turkey may have in an open and constructive manner. These discussions are already taking place and will continue in the coming days.'