President Biden will meet with the president of Finland and prime minister of Sweden later this week after both nations began the formal process of applying for NATO membership.

The White House announced Tuesday that Biden would meet Thursday with Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Moments after the announcement, Finland’s parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of requesting NATO membership.

The meeting will come one week after Biden held a virtual call with the two leaders in which they discussed “the close defense and security cooperation” among the three nations following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“President Biden underscored his support for NATO’s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy, and security arrangements,” the White House said at the time before adding that the trio “reiterated their shared commitment to continued coordination in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people affected by the war.”

In Helsinki Tuesday, Finnish lawmakers approved the nation’s application for membership in the Atlantic alliance by a vote of 188-8.

On Monday, Sweden’s Andersson announced that her government would begin the application process to join the 30-member bloc, ending decades of military neutrality.

If Finland joins NATO, the alliance’s border with Russia would increase by more than 800 miles at the stroke of a pen.

Following the announcements, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Monday that the expansion of NATO “will definitely provoke a response.” 

“We’ll see what it’s going to be like depending on the threats this would pose to us,” the authoritarian leader said, adding: “Problems are being created for no reason at all. We shall react accordingly​.”

In order to join NATO, Finland and Sweden will need the approval of all current 30 members. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come out against admitting the two nations, accusing them of giving safe haven to “terrorists” and imposing sanctions on Turkey — an apparent reference to the suspension of Swedish and Finnish weapons exports in 2019 after Ankara sent troops into northern Syria to attack Kurdish fighters.

When pressed on Turkey’s hesitance Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there is a “lot of support” for Sweden and Finland and added that the US has “every confidence” there will be a consensus in favor of their membership.

“There’s conversations happening, I cannot speak for the Turkish government as to what they need, what they’re looking for,” she told reporters aboard Air Force One. “But yeah, we feel very confident.”

While visiting Stockholm Tuesday, Niinisto said he spoke to Erdogan in early April “and it was crystal clear that he was supportive, and he said that the Finnish membership should be assessed favorably. Now it seems that there are different opinions. We must continue to discuss.”

Andersson said Sweden is still seeking contact with Turkey to “sort out the question marks.” But Erdogan on Monday dismissed a Swedish plan to send a team of diplomats to Turkey to discuss the issue, saying “don’t wear yourselves out.”

With Post wires