Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.

It's believed they discussed European security and the two Nordic countries' bids to join NATO.

Finland and Sweden have long shunned military alignments. But they officially applied for NATO membership on Wednesday, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a fundamental change to the security environment. Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer land border with Russia.

Biden said in a statement on Wednesday that he looks forward to working with the US Congress and NATO allies "to quickly bring Finland and Sweden into the strongest defensive alliance in history."

But Turkey is objecting to the applications. Ankara has expressed concern that a Kurdish militant group it has designated as a terrorist organization is active in Finland and Sweden.