Washington
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a telephone call with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde discussed the US support for NATO’s open-door policy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release.
Sweden may apply for NATO membership later this month or in June while Finland is reportedly considering applying to join the alliance on May 12, media reported.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in Washington, DC,” Price said in the release on Wednesday. “Secretary Blinken underscored the importance of the Transatlantic relationship to European security and reaffirmed our commitment to NATO’s Open Door policy.”
Sweden and Finland have both expressed concerns about being vulnerable to Russia during the application period, which Linde alluded to during an interview after the talks with Blinken.
“Naturally, I’m not going to go into any details, but I feel very sure that now we have an American assurance,” Linde told Swedish TV on Wednesday as quoted by Reuters. “However, not concrete security guarantees, those you can only get if you are a full member of NATO.”
According to the report, Linde, however, declined to say what assurances she had received from Blinken.
