Just when Finland and Sweden were seeking to apply to join NATO and had already launched substantive actions to advance the matter domestically, Turkey suddenly expressed its opposition.
Comprehensive Associated Press and other foreign media latest news, on May 13, local time, Turkish President Erdogan said that Turkey is paying attention to developments in Finland and Sweden’s possible application to join NATO, but does not agree with this matter. He made it clear that Türkiye could not maintain a positive stance on this issue.
Why does Türkiye send negative signals about Finland and Sweden joining NATO?
Turkey is a truly old NATO member. It joined NATO as early as 1952 and has the second largest military force in NATO after the United States. Turkey has always had a positive attitude towards NATO's past attempts to absorb new members and expand the size of the alliance. But why are we uncharacteristically unwilling to support Sweden and Finland's joining this time? Erdogan also gave an explanation for this. He said that Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Finland have become hiding places for terrorist organizations including the PKK, and some of them are even members of the parliaments of these countries. "In addition, he also pointed out that Turkey did not want to repeat the mistake it made in 1980 and agreed to Greece join NATO. This mistake allowed Greece to adopt a stance against Turkey with the support of NATO. Most NATO member states expressed support for Sweden, Finland applied to join
Sweden and Finland have always pursued a policy of military non-alignment. NATO has tried to attract them many times to no avail. However, after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, the two countries immediately changed their attitudes and began to consider giving up their neutral status to join NATO. After the appearance, NATO immediately extended an olive branch. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said that if the two countries apply to join, they will be welcomed and can join NATO quickly. Subsequently, the United States and the United Kingdom, both members of NATO, also promised to join NATO. The two countries provided guarantees during the "grey time" between when they submitted their applications to join NATO and when they were officially accepted. The UK then directly signed a security agreement with the two countries. In addition, before Turkey released a negative signal, Some major NATO members, including Germany, have also expressed support for the two countries to join NATO.
Turkey is not relenting. It is impossible for Sweden and Finland to "join".
Although Erdogan did not directly say that he would stop the two Nordic countries from trying. However, judging from his statement on this matter, once the two countries formally submit their applications to join NATO, Turkey will not be ruled out using its veto power during NATO discussions on this application. If all the remaining 29 member states agree, the two countries will not be able to join NATO, because according to NATO regulations, all decisions must be made by consensus, and each member state has the right to veto as long as there is one. If the country is different, the application will not be approved.
Fearing that something might happen, the United States quickly spoke out and sent people to interview Turkey.
Erdogan’s unexpected statement showed Turkey’s position on the issue of Sweden and Finland joining NATO. After expressing its position, the United States, which is making every effort to promote the two countries to join NATO, immediately responded. White House Press Secretary Psaki said on the 13th that the United States is working hard to clarify Turkey’s position and believes that NATO member states should broadly support the two countries’ membership. , U.S. Secretary of State Blinken has made a schedule and will meet with counterparts from other NATO member states this weekend, including Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu. At that time, the issue of Sweden and Finland joining NATO will also be a topic of discussion.
Will Sweden and Finland really be safe after joining NATO?
Although joining NATO will allow Sweden and Finland to enjoy the benefits of NATO's collective defense provisions, that is, once they are attacked, they will be considered a threat to all NATO members. s attack.But after they join NATO, they will inevitably become the forefront of the confrontation between Russia and NATO, and will bear the brunt if something happens. It is worth mentioning that NATO's collective defense clause has been cited once so far, that is, after the 9.11 terrorist attacks, NATO joined the United States in launching the Afghanistan war .
In addition, Sweden and Finland have extremely special geographical locations, especially Finland and Russia, which have a land border of more than 1,300 kilometers. The two countries' joining NATO will not only make Russia face more severe containment, but also threaten Russia's interests in the surrounding North Sea, Barents Sea and Arctic regions, which will inevitably trigger a strong reaction from Russia.
Australian international politics expert Tony Kevin believes that if Sweden and Finland eventually join NATO, it is possible that NATO missile systems will be deployed on the territories of these two Nordic countries. Once this happens, the two countries will inevitably be listed as priority targets by Russia for its missiles, which will weaken the national security of the two countries.
Russia has issued multiple rounds of warnings
In fact, Russian National Security Council Vice Chairman Medvedev warned as early as April that Russia would have to strengthen its military forces in the Baltic Sea if Sweden and Finland join NATO. We can no longer talk about the nuclear-free status of the Baltic Sea. I hope they understand this. Otherwise, Russia will have to deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in Kaliningrad.
html On May 12, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement stating that if Finland joins NATO, it will seriously damage relations between the two countries and affect the stability of the Nordic region. Russia will have to adopt military technology and other means to eliminate the threat to Russia's national security. On the 13th, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov announced that Putin had discussed Finland and NATO’s decision to join NATO with members of the Russian Security Council and exchanged views on the threats it poses to Russia’s security.
Oleg Balabanov, project director of the Russian Valdai Club, recently said that Finland and Sweden's joining NATO is inevitable and it is just a matter of time, which may be a few months or a few weeks. He pointed out that once Finland and Sweden officially become NATO members, NATO troops will inevitably be deployed in the two countries. At that time, various provocative incidents, including NATO aircraft entering Russian airspace, will begin to occur.
