Media: Swedish delegation to travel to Ankara to discuss NATO bid

The logo and flags of NATO member countries. File photoANKARA, May 16.The Swedish delegation will soon go to Ankara to discuss the application to NATO, the Turkish newspaper Huriyyet writes on Monday, citing Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde. Turkey is following the process around the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO and cannot yet look at it positively, the president said earlier Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu noted that Finland and Sweden declared their readiness to work with Turkey on issues of concern to Ankara. The Democratic Party of Sweden announced its decision to apply for NATO membership, while noting that Sweden, if its application is approved, will oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons and military bases on its territory. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that joining NATO would have a positive impact on the security of the country and the Swedish people. On Sunday, Finland also officially decided to join the North Atlantic Alliance. According to media reports, the Swedish government has already prepared a letter of application to NATO, which is planned to be sent simultaneously with Finland.The leader of the Swedish opposition party spoke out against joining NATO The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that the alliance would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to quickly join. NATO expects these countries to make their own decisions about possible membership in the coming «months and weeks,» US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö, noted that abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality would be erroneous, since there are no threats to Finland's security. In his opinion, a change in the country's foreign policy may have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which for many years were built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership cooperation, were mutually beneficial. jpg» />The expert told what will help Russia to contain NATO while expanding the alliance