NATO headquarters in Brussels. Archival photoMOSCOW, May 15. NATO, led by the United States, will have to make concessions to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan if they want Finland and Sweden to become members of the alliance, Jan Hallenberg, an expert, said in an interview with SVT. But in order for Erdogan to say yes, he will have to offer him a couple of «cookies,» he said. Hallenberg believes that Washington can offer its favor in exchange for Erdogan's consent to NATO expansion.The expert added that he considers Ankara's similar position a diplomatic ploy and an attempt to demonstrate significance among the member countries of the alliance.
The new NATO strategy will touch on the containment of Russia, Blinken said «President Erdogan wants to show himself as a strong leader both at home and in the foreign policy arena,» the analyst summed up. Earlier, President Erdogan said that Ankara is following the process around the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO and until he can look at it positively. Later, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he had met with colleagues from Finland and Sweden and informed them about Ankara's expectations for their membership in the alliance. In Stockholm and Helsinki, they started talking about the possibility of abandoning long-term neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of Russian special operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, claims that the alliance will be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity for quick entry. Today, Sweden and Finland decided to apply for membership in NATO. Russia has repeatedly noted that the North Atlantic Alliance is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov emphasized 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 the alliance an existential threat to Russia.
