Biden, who met with Stoltenberg, who is on an official visit to the United States, at the White House, thanked Stoltenberg for his leadership in NATO.
Biden said that NATO allies are more united than ever before and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was wrong about this.
Reminding that Finland is a member of NATO, Biden said that they hope Sweden will be a member of the Alliance in a very short time.
Emphasizing that the United States is strongly committed to NATO’s Article 5, which commits collective defense to all its allies, Biden referred to the contribution of Indo-Pacific countries such as Japan and South Korea to the fight against the war in Europe.
Biden also apologized to Stoltenberg for delaying his talks yesterday due to dental treatment.
“The Ukrainians are making progress”
Stoltenberg thanked the US for the military aid package announced to Ukraine today. Talking about the counterattack launched by the Ukrainians against Russia, Stoltenberg said that the Ukrainians “made progress” in this regard.
“The more lands the Ukrainians can liberate, the stronger their hands will be at the negotiating table,” said Stoltenberg, and evaluated that if Russia wins the war, this might encourage “authoritarian” countries to achieve what they want with military force.
“We look forward to welcoming Sweden as soon as possible as a full-fledged member of the Alliance,” Stoltenberg said.