Finnish Leader to Meet Biden as Support for NATO Entry Grows

(Bloomberg) -- Finland's President Sauli Niinisto will visit President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on Friday, just as the debate on joining NATO has intensified in the Nordic country after its neighbor Russia invaded Ukraine.

The presidents are set to discuss Russia's attack, its impact on security in Europe and bilateral cooperation between the countries, Niinisto's office said in a statement on Thursday. Niinisto will also meet with other policy makers.

Russia's invasion prompted a historic shift in Finns' attitudes on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with a majority now supporting the idea. Russia has warned that Finland's accession to NATO would have serious military and political repercussions.

“Our security environment is now undergoing rapid and extreme change,” Niinisto said in a separate statement on Thursday. Still, he sought to downplay any hopes of a fast accession to the defense bloc, saying that “in the midst of an acute crisis, however, it is particularly important to keep a cool head and to assess with care the impact of past and possible future changes on our security -- not hesitating, but with care.”

Finnish policy makers have in recent days held a raft of meetings to discuss how to respond to Russia's aggression against its neighbor, which crippled one of the cornerstones of Finnish foreign policy: maintaining good relations with Russia. The Finnish border with Russia is the longest among European Union members, at around 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).

Talks within Finland “will continue in an organized, calm, measured and considered manner,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday, adding that defense spending will be increased.

The concern is that any bid to join NATO without security guarantees would risk making the Nordic country more vulnerable. Even so, Finland has one of Europe's strongest armies, relative to its size, and a war-time strength of 280,000 troops. In December it unveiled a 10 billion-euro ($11.1 billion) purchase of 64 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 multi-role fighter jets to replace aging warplanes.