Well, they start with the same letter …
President Biden announced on Thursday that he had called on the Swiss leader to discuss abandoning two centuries of neutrality to join NATO, before quickly correcting himself by saying he was actually referring to Sweden.
“Some American press will remember when I received a phone call from the leader of Finland who told me he could come and see me, and then he came the next day and said, ‘You will support my incorporation, my country joins NATO? ‘ We have the phone. He suggested we call the Swiss leader, “Biden said.
The president immediately fixed his mistake and added, “Switzerland, my God, I’m getting very anxious to expand NATO, from Sweden.”
Biden was speaking at a press conference in Madrid after a NATO summit at which Finland and Sweden were officially invited to join the military alliance in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago .
Sweden had been neutral in the various military clashes in Europe since the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s, during which it had lost control of Finland to Russia.
“Switzerland, my God, I am getting very anxious to expand NATO,” President Biden said before correcting himself. Denis Doyle / Getty Images President Biden was speaking at a press conference in Madrid after a summit in which Finland and Sweden were officially invited to join NATO. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images Last month, President Biden mistakenly said North Korea when he meant South Korea. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
Finland has been neutral since World War II, when it lost a substantial amount of territory to the Soviet Union.
Biden, who turns 80 this year, has already mixed the names of countries before. Last month, he erroneously said “North Korea” when he meant “South Korea” while listing supporters of U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Last year, he mixed Libya and Syria when he talked about possible areas of cooperation with Russia.
The incorporation of Finland and Sweden raises the number of nations in NATO to 32 after Turkey abandoned its objections to the accession of the Nordic countries to the bloc.