President Biden plans to reaffirm his belief this week that Sweden should be part of NATO.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr. Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will meet at The White House Wednesday to discuss their “growing security cooperation” and their shared view Sweden should be part of the military alliance “as soon as possible.”
Turkey has raised objections to Sweden joining NATO.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently said he has called a meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden, and Finland for July 6 to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden entering NATO.
Mr. Stoltenberg hopes to overcome the hurdle before a major summit the following week. Sweden’s membership would be a highly symbolic moment and another indication of how Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving countries to join the Western alliance.
NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand.
— This story is based in part on wire reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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