US President Joe Biden said today that he is “proud” to welcome Finland to NATO.

“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the Ukrainian people, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. He made a mistake. Today we are more united than ever. I am delighted to welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO,” Joe Biden said in a statement.

Joe Biden also stressed that he “looks forward to welcoming Sweden to NATO as soon as possible”, urging Turkey and Hungary to complete the ratification procedures for Sweden to join the Alliance “without delay”.

For his part, the head of American diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, called on Turkey and Hungary to “immediately” ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO.

“We call on Turkey and Hungary to ratify the Swedish accession protocols without delay so that we can welcome Sweden to the Atlantic Alliance as soon as possible,” he said in a statement released after the Finnish flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.