Biden in the Kremlin’s Neighborhood
Biden in the Kremlin’s Neighborhood According to Iran Gate, U.S. President Joe Biden visited Finland, NATO’s newest member, on Thursday, July 13th. During this visit, he described Finland as a valuable asset to the military alliance. He also stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already failed in the Ukraine war.
Speaking in the presence of Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, he emphasized that Vladimir Putin has lost the war in Ukraine because Moscow is facing resource shortages and economic challenges.
In a press conference in Helsinki, Biden said, ‘Putin has lost the war, and there is no chance for him to win the war in Ukraine.’ He added that Ukraine will join NATO, and Putin will eventually realize that continuing the war is not in Russia’s interest. Biden continued, ‘No one can join NATO while engaged in a war.’
The U.S. President promised to protect every inch of NATO territory, which includes Finland. He said the United States is committed to Finland and NATO, and these commitments are very strong. Biden also mentioned that they are seriously pursuing the issue of prisoner exchange with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for over a hundred days. He added that this process is ongoing.
From Vilnius to Helsinki
Biden traveled directly from the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to Finland. He also held a small meeting in Helsinki with leaders of Nordic countries, including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland.
The main topic of this meeting was closer cooperation between the Nordic countries and the United States in security, climate change, and emerging technologies. A White House official said that President Biden welcomed Sweden’s membership in NATO during these meetings because Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan dropped his opposition to Sweden joining NATO this week and claimed he would recommend that Turkish lawmakers approve Sweden’s NATO membership.
The five Nordic countries, which include three kingdoms—Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—and two republics—Iceland and Finland—are all NATO members except for Sweden. Biden’s visit comes almost five years after former U.S. President Donald Trump had a friendly and conciliatory tone with Russian President Vladimir Putin during talks in Helsinki.
The U.S. President also spoke about cooperation in new technologies and artificial intelligence. He said, ‘We are pioneers in producing the next generation of new technologies, which empowers our economies, and I think we should increase our cooperation in this area because what we do is a great advantage for humanity, but if we do not cooperate, it could create significant problems in the fields of artificial intelligence and other areas for us and the world.’
A Valuable Asset for NATO
Finland officially joined NATO at the beginning of April. After seven decades of military non-alignment and decades of neutrality, the country decided to apply for NATO membership following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in nearly doubling NATO’s shared border with Russia.
At that time, Sauli Niinistö, after raising his country’s flag in front of NATO headquarters in Brussels, said, ‘The era of military non-alignment in our history has ended, and a new era is beginning.’ Finland shares a border of approximately 1,340 kilometers with Russia. At the start of his meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö, Biden said, ‘I don’t think NATO has ever been stronger.’ He added, ‘We defend common democratic values together.’
Finnish President Niinistö emphasized that the country’s NATO membership heralds a new era in our security and praised Joe Biden for creating unity at the Vilnius summit and his focus and emphasis on solidarity in supporting Ukraine.
Addressing Climate Change
In a meeting with leaders, including those from Nordic countries like Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, Biden called for close cooperation to tackle the climate crisis. He stressed that this is the only threat humanity faces and that we do not have much time, but he is hopeful that if we continue to cooperate, we can tackle it. Biden added that Nordic countries have long played a leading role in this matter.
Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir emphasized that the United States has also played an important role in addressing the climate crisis and biodiversity over the years. Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen praised Biden for the U.S. return to the Paris Climate Agreement and cooperation to combat climate change. Frederiksen said, ‘With you in the White House, we have the opportunity to do this together.’
In conclusion, the U.S. President emphasized, ‘We share a common and similar vision in many areas, including a free and secure world and providing opportunities for all. We believe that when low-income countries prosper, we all benefit. We also strengthen our cooperation in combating climate change and once again reminded the commitment of these countries at the NATO summit in Lithuania to continue aiding Zelenskyy.’
Biden in the Minefield
As it happened, Biden makes rock-solid commitment to defend Finland during official visit
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