Biden says U.S. commitments to Finland, NATO 'rock solid' after Nordic summit

July 13 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday guaranteed that the United States will always be part of NATO as he met with President Sauli Niinisto in Finland.

In a meeting ahead of the speech, The White House said Biden congratulated Niinisto on Finland officially joining NATO and speaking during a joint news conference after a summit with Niinisto and other Nordic state leaders, Biden reaffirmed the United States' commitment to defending Finland as a NATO member.

"As your ally, we want the people of Finland to know, we are committed to Finland, committed to NATO and those commitments are rock solid," he said. "We will defend every inch of NATO territory and that includes Finland obviously."

Finland joined the alliance in April after it was originally set to join the alliance alongside Sweden, which is now set to become a member after Turkey agreed to drop its objection.

When asked about repeated failure of legislation to prevent future presidents from withdrawing from NATO without Senate approval, Biden said that the United States "absolutely will remain a partner to the military alliance."

"As sure as anything can possibly be said about American foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO ... beginning, middle and end, we're a transatlantic partnership," he said.

Former President Donald Trump in 2018 discussed pulling out of NATO with advisors as he charged that the military alliance created to keep then the Soviet Union and now Russia in check has become a drain on the United States.

After Niinisto was asked about the lack of a guarantee, Biden said that "no one can guarantee the future, but this is the best bet anyone can make." He added, that the security of the United States depended on a safe Europe, which was plenty of incentive for America to stay involved.

Niinisto added that he met with at least 50 House and Senate members and he saw no indication from them that there was any interest in the United States leaving NATO.

Biden said the entry of Finland and Sweden in the near future will make NATO stronger and Europe more secure. He said the resources Finland and Sweden will provide will lessen the threat of an attack by Russia.

Niinisto added that Finland is in full support of being a NATO, noting that 80% of Finland's public supported the country's entrance into the alliance and they feel safer already despite sharing a border with Russia.

On the topic of Ukraine and Russia's year-long invasion of that country, Biden said he believe Putin has "already lost the war" and did not think Russia "could maintain the resources and capacity" to continue it long term.

He added that he hopes to see the current Ukraine counteroffensive "making significant progress, leading to a negotiated settlement."