US assures Sweden, Finland of military support as Turkey delays NATO entry
The Biden administration is offering military support to bolster the defenses of Sweden and Finland against potential Russian actions as Turkey threatens to delay the two Nordic countries’ admission into the NATO alliance.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Earlier today, the governments in both Stockholm and Helsinki formally applied to join the alliance for the first time as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Austin and Hultqvist agreed to set up bilateral staff meetings to discuss any Swedish military requests from the US that could help deter potential Russian attacks before Sweden and Finland can be fully brought into NATO, a senior US defense official said today on the condition of anonymity.
Similar discussions are already ongoing between American officials and members of Finland’s government, the defense official said, declining to go into detail on what support may be on the table beyond joint military exercises.
