Shawdesh Desk:

US President Joe Biden will meet the leader of newest NATO member Finland on Thursday, after G7 powers vowed to back Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia.

Biden will meet with Sauli Niinisto, the president of the Nordic country, which shares a 1,300 kilometres (800-mile) border with Russia and which ended its historic military non-alignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The trip comes after NATO leaders dashed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s hopes for a clear timeline to join the military alliance, saying they would offer an invite only when “conditions are met”.

G7 nations later offered Ukraine a package of long-term security commitments and vowed to stand with Kyiv for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia.

Besides Niinisto and the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Biden will meet Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Iceland’s Katrin Jakobsdottir.

The topic of the discussions is cooperation between the Nordic countries and the United States on security, environmental and technology issues.

Biden will be the first US president to visit Helsinki since Donald Trump’s summit five years ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin.