Finland and Sweden "becoming NATO members" is what matters rather than the two countries joining the alliance at the same time for U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House said Thursday.
"Finland and Sweden are going to be great NATO allies," said John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House's national security team, at a briefing for reporters when asked if Biden would support allowing Finland into NATO before Sweden.
"As for your second question on the choreography, what matters to us is that both nations become NATO allies. The Texas 'two step' that goes into doing that ... that's not our main concern," he replied.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members, except Türkiye and Hungary, have ratified their accession, but unanimity is required.
Ankara said Sweden must first take a more explicit stance against the terrorists the Scandinavian country harbors.
Türkiye has frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO enlargement but criticizes Stockholm for not acting against elements posing a security threat to Ankara.
Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.
However recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have led Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to take the necessary steps to gain NATO membership.
Ankara has long criticized Stockholm for housing members of various terrorist organizations, particularly members of the PKK, and in recent years, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) – the terrorist group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt in Türkiye.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that Ankara may allow Finland into the alliance before Sweden.
Ahead of a historic NATO summit, the three countries signed a trilateral deal in June that prevented a Turkish veto. In the memorandum, the Nordic countries said they would address Türkiye’s extradition requests for terrorists. In addition, the joint directive states that Finland and Sweden “will not provide support to ... the organization described as FETÖ and terrorist groups.”
