United States President, Joe Biden, landed in Finland on Wednesday, July 12, after the NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. After landing in the Nordic capital, Helsinki, he met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, alongside other Scandinavian leaders: Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, and Iceland’s Katrin Jakobsdottir.
This is the first time a United States president visits Helsinki. The last time this happened was when Donald Trump attended the summit five years ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His talks with the leaders had a very distinct tone to that of Trump’s, as Biden emphasized unity, cooperation, and partnership between the countries in the NATO alliance. In addition, The American politician focused on discussing collaborations between the six countries regarding security, environmental safety, and technology matters. He said:
“At 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 stay committed to our course? 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 toward a stronger, safer, and more secure world.”
In addition, Biden stated that American people “know” that the security of the United States “rests in the unanimity among European and transatlantic partners.” He later talked about the addition of Finland and Sweden to NATO and assured that these nations share a “common history” and also “common challenges and values.”