US President Joe Biden stood alongside Nordic politicians on Thursday on the territory of Nato's newest member, Finland, in a powerful demonstration of the military alliance's expanding influence against Russia.
Mr Biden also met the leaders of other nations including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland during the summit.
Sweden is poised to be admitted as Nato's 32nd member after it pledged more co-operation with Turkey on counter-terrorism efforts while backing Ankara’s bid to join the EU. Finland gained Nato membership earlier this year.
Mr Biden described the US-Nordic summit as “very productive” and vowed to protect every inch of Nato territory including Finland during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the Presidential Palace.
“The United States is committed to Finland, committed to Nato, and those commitments are rock solid,” Mr Biden said.
Washington's commitment to Nato is “absolutely guaranteed” despite pushback from “extreme” elements in the Republican Party, he added.
He also pledged that Ukraine would join Nato once the current conflict is over, but said to do so now would risk the possibility of a third world war.
“It's not about whether or not they should or shouldn't join. It's about when they can join, and they will join Nato,” he said.
He also reiterated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already lost the war and would eventually decide it is not in Moscow's interest to continue, as it is running low on financial and economic resources.
Both Finland and Sweden abandoned a history of military non-alignment and sought to join Nato after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Mr Biden's brief stop in the Finnish capital is the coda to a tour that was carefully planned to highlight the growth of a military alliance that the President says has been fortified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Finland's admittance to Nato effectively doubled the alliance’s border with Russia.
Mr Biden arrived in Helsinki after what he deemed a successful Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where allies agreed to pave the way for Ukraine to become a future member.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the summit's outcome “a significant security victory” for his country but expressed disappointment at not receiving an outright invitation to join.
The US President and other officials also held what aides called pivotal conversations with Turkey before Ankara dropped its objections to Sweden joining Nato. Mr Biden said he felt good about the trip.
“We accomplished every goal we set out to accomplish,” he told reporters Wednesday before the flight to Finland.
And despite Mr Zelenskyy's expressed frustrations, Mr Biden – who met the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday in Vilnius – said on Thursday that the Ukrainian President “ended up being very happy”.
Mr Biden’s trip took place nearly five years to the day since former president Donald Trump stood alongside Mr Putin in Helsinki and cast doubt on his own intelligence apparatus.
That was days after Mr Trump tore through a Nato summit during which he disparaged the alliance and threatened to withdraw the US from it.
In contrast, Mr Biden has heartily embraced the tenets of multilateralism that Mr Trump shunned, speaking repeatedly of having to rebuild international coalitions after four tumultuous years under his predecessor.
The garrulous former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman is in his element at summits abroad and speaks of how his background in international policy is proof that decades of experience on the world stage has mattered for the presidency.
Opening the broader meeting, Mr Niinisto said his Nordic counterparts had one overriding objective: “guarantee the future – security-wise, environmental-wise and technology-wise”.
Mr Biden added that the “nations around the table not only share common history, but we share common challenges, and I would add presumptuously, common values”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who saw Mr Biden in the Oval Office last week, lightheartedly remarked to the US leader that “I have met you more than I’ve met my own family”.
Mr Biden is the sixth US president to visit Finland, a country of 5.5 million that has hosted several US-Soviet and US-Russia summits. The first involved President Gerald Ford, who would sign the so-called Helsinki Accords with more than 30 other nations in 1975.
But Charly Salonius-Pasternak, senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, noted that Mr Biden's visit marked the first time a sitting US president has come to Finland to honour the country itself, rather than as a neutral location for meeting Russian leaders or other similar reasons.
“The fact that Biden has chosen to go specifically to Finland for Finland is symbolic and, in some ways, very concrete,” he said. “It’s a kind of deterrence messaging that only the United States can do.”
In the Cold War era, Finland acted as a neutral buffer between Moscow and Washington, and its leaders played a balancing act between the East and West, maintaining good relations with both superpowers and remaining militarily non-aligned, though this has changed significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
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