Biden in Finland: ‘I Absolutely Guarantee’ the U.S. Will Remain in NATO
US president stands in same room in Helsinki where his predecessor delivered a much different message
Standing on the soil of the latest nation to be admitted into the alliance, President Biden offered a bold declaration about the future of NATO.
The United States will remain firmly a part of the transatlantic security umbrella, President Biden assured.
Biden was celebrating NATO’s unity and resolve against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Helsinki, Finland, a war that drove Finland to join the alliance in April after decades of diplomatic neutrality.
The entrance of Finland to the alliance of 31 member states – 29 European and two North American — immediately added more than 800 miles of NATO border with Russia, an ironic twist given that fears of NATO expansion was one of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's reasons for invading Ukraine in the first place.
“Mr President, at this critical moment in history — this inflection point — the world is watching to see: Will we do the hard work that matters, to forge a better future? Will we stand together? Will we stand with one another? Will we stay committed to our course?” Biden asked, standing alongside Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, as Biden wrapped up a five-day trip in Europe. “This week, Finland and the United States — and our allies and partners — said a resounding, loud, ‘Yes.’ ‘Yes, we'll step up,’ ‘Yes, we'll stand together,’ and ‘Yes, we'll keep working towards a stronger, safer and more-secure world.”
Biden delivered his remarks in the same room in which — almost exactly five years ago — Donald Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Putin and sided with the Russian leader over the US intelligence community on the matter of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
And in contrast to his Republican predecessor — who reportedly was looking to withdraw the United States from the post-World War II security umbrella — Biden was bullish on the future of United States in NATO.
In response to a reporter's question, Biden said he would “absolutely guarantee” the United States would stay in the alliance.
“There’s no question. There’s overwhelming support from the American people. There’s overwhelming support from the members of the Congress, both House and the Senate, and both parties, notwithstanding the fact there are some extreme elements of one party,” Biden said, referring to the American Republican Party. “We will stand together. The American people have known since end of World War II and the formation of NATO that our security rests in the unanimity among European and transatlantic partners: us. And so, this is — you know, no one can guarantee the future, but this is the best bet anyone could make.”
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