A group of the most powerful US senators has put forth a resolution supporting Finland’s and Sweden’s admittance to NATO, calling on the Biden administration to move “expeditiously” to ensure this happens.
The top Republican and Democrat senators on the Foreign Relations Committee and the two most senior senators joined together to introduce the resolution submitted at the end of last week.
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The resolution was submitted after Finland’s president and Sweden’s prime minister visited Washington to discuss their recent decision to apply for NATO membership.
“This resolution highlights both nations’ political and military successes and calls on the Senate to ratify their accession to NATO as soon as possible,” Senator Jim Risch said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Finland and Sweden have considered applying to become NATO member states. This momentum picked up support from the US and other European countries in the alliance.
US President Joe Biden has already expressed full support for Sweden and Finland in what has been a rare show of bipartisan agreement among Republicans and Democrats.
“Putin has empowered NATO’s mission and the world’s resolve to stand united against his aggression,” Senator Bob Menendez said.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO would be a “further rebuke” of Putin’s attack on Ukraine. “As Majority Leader, I commit to moving their acceptance into NATO swiftly through the Senate and expect broad bipartisan support,” he said.
For his part, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell commended Sweden and Finland for being strong countries with “formidable” military capabilities.
“Both nations’ robust defense funding means their accession would meaningfully bolster our pursuit of greater burden-sharing across the alliance,” McConnell said.
McConnell led a Republican congressional delegation to Kyiv last week, where he met top officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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