WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): President Biden on Thursday, May 19 expressed unequivocal support for Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, saying that the two democratic countries “meet every NATO requirement and then some” and that their addition to the alliance would strengthen U.S. security, says a Washington Post report. The Post’s Amy B Wang reports that Biden, flanked by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in the Rose Garden, said his administration is immediately submitting the reports needed for the Senate to approve NATO expansion, a necessary step for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. He urged the Senate to “efficiently and quickly” move on giving its consent.

“In recent years, doubts began to arise: Was NATO still relevant? Was it still effective? Is it still needed in the 21st-century world?” Biden said. “Today there is no question NATO is relevant, it is effective, and it is more needed now than ever. The indispensable alliance of decades past is still the indispensable alliance for the world we face today and, I would argue, tomorrow, as well.”