U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit to Sweden, Norway, and Finland from May 29 to June 2 as Washington seeks to deepen transatlantic cooperation amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
On June 2, Blinken will give a speech in Helsinki to highlight “all the ways in which Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been a strategic failure, and our continued efforts to support Ukraine’s defense of its territory, sovereignty, and democracy in pursuit of a just and durable peace.”
Meanwhile, Sweden still hopes to be a member of NATO by the time of the alliance's summit in Vilnius in July, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on May 26.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine moved Sweden and Finland last year to ditch long-held policies of military nonalignment and seek NATO membership.
Finland joined NATO last month, but Sweden's membership has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.
There's no "Plan B or anything like that. Plan B is Plan A -- that is full membership in NATO," he said.