Biden invites Sweden’s PM to White House amid NATO aspirations.

President Biden to Meet Sweden’s Prime Minister Amid NATO Membership Debate

President Joe Biden will host Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday at the White House, as the Nordic country’s path to NATO membership remains up in the air.

Sweden has expressed a strong desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

NATO decisions, however, are reached through a consensus-based procedure involving all member states. Hungary and Turkey have been the opposing parties to Stockholm’s application.

Hungary’s parliament recently decided to put off ratification of Sweden’s accession bid until its autumn legislative session. And Turkey is delaying approval of Sweden’s request, citing the Nordic country’s failure to resolve its security concerns.

In a recent interview, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Stockholm should not expect to join the alliance anytime soon.

The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being overly accommodating toward certain groups, including militant Kurdish groups and individuals linked to a 2016 coup attempt.

Recent Quran-burning protests in Sweden have also enraged Turkey.

“Whether Sweden’s membership in NATO will be a burden or a benefit, in terms of a strategic and security assessment, is now more than ever open to debate,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on July 4 during a press conference.

While the protests are permitted under Sweden’s free speech laws, the country’s leaders have denounced the act.

NATO Summit in Vilnius to Address Global Security Challenges

Leaders from NATO countries will meet in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, next week to discuss critical global security challenges. The summit, slated for July 11–12, will bring together heads of state, military officials, and diplomats from the alliance’s 31 member nations at a critical juncture as threats from Russia and China increase.

Kristersson last month expressed his country’s desire to join NATO before or during the July summit in Vilnius.

Both Sweden and Finland resisted joining the alliance for decades, opting for neutrality and non-alignment. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, both countries abandoned those long-standing positions and formally requested membership in NATO.

Following months of delay, the Turkish parliament unanimously confirmed Finland’s membership on March 30, allowing Finland to become the 31st member of the military alliance in April.

W