The American president, during the press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid, inadvertently confused neutral Switzerland and Sweden, which plans to join the military alliance, before realizing his slip.
Switzerland a member of NATO? In a slip on Thursday, Joe Biden considered the most unlikely diplomatic scenario, namely participation in Switzerland’s fiercely neutral Western Military Alliance.
The American president, during a press conference at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid, recounted the steps leading up to the historic decision that the Alliance has just taken, namely to expand to Finland and Sweden .
Among these steps, a visit by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to the White House.
In the Oval Office, the Finnish head of state, recalls Joe Biden, “suggests calling the leader of Switzerland.”
The American president immediately realizes his mistake and goes on, tongue-in-cheek: “Switzerland… My God… My God… I definitely really want NATO to extend.”
In front of the amused journalists, he specifies that it is indeed “Sweden” that he wants to talk about.
The decision of the two Nordic countries, historically non-aligned militarily, is a major step for the defense organization.
An accession of Switzerland, this country synonymous with neutrality, is on the other hand diplomatic science fiction.
And this despite some recent initiatives which have revived the debate in Switzerland on this sacrosanct principle: the Alpine country has rallied to European sanctions against Russia, and it will also sit for two years as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.