(Bloomberg) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto met with President Joe Biden in the White House, signaling that he’s looking for a closer relationship with the superpower after Finland’s neighbor Russia invaded Ukraine. 

“We have a long-lasting partnership, very good relations,” Niinisto, 73, told Biden before their talks in Washington, D.C. on Friday. “I hope that during this meeting and discussion, we can strengthen them more -- between the U.S. and Finland, and the Nordic countries altogether.” 

It’s the third time the presidents are in direct contact in recent months, after phone calls in December and January, with Niinisto getting unprecedented face time with the U.S. leader, just as the debate on joining NATO has intensified in the Nordic country.

The war in Ukraine has crippled one of the cornerstones of Finland’s foreign policy: maintaining good relations with Russia, forcing its policy makers to scramble. The Finnish border with Russia is the longest among European Union members, at around 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).

The concern is that any bid to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without security guarantees would risk making Finland more vulnerable.

“Finland is a critical partner” of the U.S. “especially in the strength and security of the Baltic Sea area,” Biden said.

In December, Biden told Niinisto that Finland’s decision to buy Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 fighter jets in a $11 billion warplane-fleet revamp would provide “a strong foundation for even closer bilateral defense ties for years to come.”

Strong security coordination is also taking place with neighboring Sweden, whose Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist are traveling to Finland on Saturday for a meeting with their counterparts and Niinisto. Both countries have seen a historic shift in attitudes to military alignment with NATO since Russia’s attack, with about half the population now supporting entry.

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