Biden will host Sweden’s prime minister at the White House as the Nordic nation seeks to join NATO

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is set to welcome the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, to the White House this Wednesday. This meeting comes as the U.S. pushes for Sweden’s admission into NATO, a move that has been impeded by objections from two members of the Western military alliance.

The agenda for the Biden-Kristersson meet includes a “review of our burgeoning security cooperation and a reaffirmation of their shared belief that Sweden’s NATO membership should be expedited,” according to a White House statement issued on Saturday. The leaders will also address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and matters pertaining to China.

Both Sweden and its neighbor, Finland, renounced their longstanding military neutrality in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and subsequently applied for NATO membership as a means to secure protection under the organization’s defense canopy.

In other news:

• The Swedish Embassy in Baghdad was temporarily stormed by protesters reacting to a Quran burning incident
• Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy met with environmental activist Greta Thunberg to discuss the environmental implications of the war
• NATO’s Secretary-General is initiating dialogue in an effort to convince Turkey to accept Sweden’s entry into the military alliance
• Turkish President Erdogan suggests that Sweden’s NATO membership is not imminent

Despite sharing a significant 832-mile (1,340 kilometer) border with Russia, Finland successfully joined NATO in April. Sweden, however, which has traditionally eschewed military alliances for over two centuries, has had its NATO ascension delayed by Turkey and Hungary, as NATO membership expansion requires unanimous approval.

It was hoped that the path to Swedish membership would be cleared before the upcoming NATO summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Swedish membership would symbolize the ongoing impact of Russia’s conflict on NATO expansion.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains a roadblock. His administration accuses Sweden of exhibiting excessive leniency towards groups deemed as security threats, including Kurdish militants and individuals linked to the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

In the previous week, Erdogan castigated Sweden over a Quran-burning protest. The Swedish police permitted this protest outside a Stockholm mosque, invoking freedom of speech following a court’s reversal of a ban on a similar event.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a meeting with high-ranking officials from Turkey, Sweden, and Finland this Thursday in a bid to surmount Turkey’s resistance.

Hungary has yet to sanction Sweden’s NATO bid. Hungarian legislators have indicated that a protracted parliamentary vote on this matter won’t occur until the fall legislative session.

The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration alleges that Swedish politicians have fabricated information about the state of democracy in Hungary. While top Hungarian officials publicly endorse Sweden’s NATO application, they simultaneously make cryptic demands from Stockholm as prerequisites for approval.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Sweden’s NATO membership

More about Sweden’s NATO membership

• NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• The White House Official Website
• President Joe Biden’s Public Statements
• Sweden’s NATO membership: Pros and Cons
• Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
• Turkey’s stance on NATO expansion
• Hungary and NATO