Swedish Prime Minister Meets with Joe Biden to 'Accelerate NATO Membership'

As NATO leaders prepare for an upcoming summit in Lithuania, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday with the aim of 'accelerating NATO membership.' While NATO leaders have previously approved Sweden's membership, Kristersson is seeking to gain consensus among countries and expedite the process ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. During the meeting, Biden and Kristersson also emphasized the expansion of relations between the United States and Sweden and their joint commitment to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. The two leaders discussed growing security cooperation and reiterated their belief that Sweden 'must and should' join NATO 'immediately.' The conversation also addressed Turkey's accusations against Sweden regarding its alleged leniency towards groups that Turkey labels as terrorist organizations. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Sweden has been seeking to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a process that requires unanimous approval from current member states; however, 'Turkey and Hungary' have yet to give their consent. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that coordination on issues related to China, addressing climate change, and emerging technologies were also topics of discussion between the U.S. and Sweden leaders. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a phone call that Sweden must end protests by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm for Ankara to greenlight Sweden's NATO membership.