Washington reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the U.S. State Department, on Wednesday evening, shortly after the White House issued a statement saying that President Joe Biden "welcomes and strongly supports the historic nominations of Finland and Sweden to join NATO."

The White House statement said: "As their applications to join NATO are considered, the United States will work with Finland and Sweden to prepare for any threats to our shared security and to confront any aggression or threat of aggression."

Biden, who hosts Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö at the White House tomorrow, Thursday, said he looks "forward to working with the U.S. Congress and our NATO allies to swiftly admit Finland and Sweden into the strongest defense alliance in history."

Following Biden's remarks, his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement that "the Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, defended their land against the unjustifiable Russian invasion, and as a result, the American flag has once again begun to fly over the (American embassy in the Ukrainian capital)."

The United States reopened its embassy after closing it for three months due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The two countries submitted their applications to join NATO earlier today, but Turkey, which like other member states has veto power over alliance expansion, rejected the start of accession talks.

Sweden and Finland, historically militarily neutral, have undergone a shift since the Russian-Ukrainian war, which also influenced public opinion in the two countries that had previously been hesitant about joining NATO.

Except for Ankara, other member states warmly welcomed Finland’s and Sweden’s applications.

Speaking before his party members in parliament today, Erdoğan said: "We only expect NATO countries to ... first understand our sensitivity, respect it, and finally support it."

He added: "We cannot approve," adding, "Supporting terrorism and asking us for support is inconsistent."

He continued: "None of our allies has ever respected this concern of ours, I am not talking about support here."

On the other hand, Erdoğan reiterated his demands for the extradition of “terrorists” harbored by Sweden, emphasizing that Stockholm has not responded to these demands.

He mentioned that "about thirty extradition requests" have not been answered.

The Turkish president again warned that the Swedish and Finnish envoys announced to be sent to Ankara on Monday are not welcome, urging them "not to bother."

Since last Friday, Erdoğan has expressed his opposition to NATO’s expansion to include these two countries and repeats this stance despite conciliatory statements from his circles.