Joe Biden welcomes Sweden to 'NATO family' in State of Union address

As Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), President Joe Biden welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to the "NATO family" during his State of the Union address, CNN reported. 

He stated, "We welcomed Finland to the alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their prime minister is here tonight. Mr Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known."

The Democratic president is expected to use Sweden's decision to join to step up calls for reluctant Republicans to approve stalled military assistance to Ukraine as the war enters its third year, AFP reported.

Biden and his NATO counterparts have vowed that Ukraine will join one day, too.

Welcoming the "historic moment", United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, "Like Finland, Sweden shares our values and principles, and they share our unwavering commitment to international security in the face of Russia's threats and their barbaric war in Ukraine."

"Sweden and Finland's membership will make NATO stronger and the whole Euro-Atlantic more secure."

Russia, in response to Sweden's move, has threatened to take unprecedented "political and military countermeasures."

Sweden's decision to join NATO after decades of neutrality is a major shift in its security policy. 

For NATO, the accessions of Sweden and Finland, which share a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, are the most significant additions in decades.