NATO headquarters in Brussels. Archival photoMOSCOW, May 17th. The visit of the delegations of Finland and Sweden to Turkey to discuss the issue of their entry into NATO will not change the position of official Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured. «Turkey will not say yes to joining the security organization of those countries who impose sanctions against our country,» — assured the head of state. The visit is scheduled for next Monday. Plans of Sweden and FinlandFinland and Sweden started talking about the possibility of abandoning long-term neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of a Russian special operation in Ukraine. The organization's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US Ambassador Julianne Smith supported this idea. On Sunday, both countries announced they were applying for membership in the alliance. In Stockholm and Helsinki, the decision was made against the backdrop of a Russian special operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the consideration of applications would be carried out in an expedited manner. Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, as of March 25, the Russian Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first stage of the special operation — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine.Finland is ready to pay dearly for joining NATORussia's positionMoscow, through bilateral channels, communicated to Sweden and Finland its position on the entry of these countries into NATO, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. «Today, our position has been clearly formed, it has not only been brought to these countries through bilateral channels,» the diplomat said. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said 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 entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niiniste last week, said that abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake, since there are no threats to Finland's security. In his opinion, a change in the country's foreign policy could 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» />Stoltenberg appreciated Turkey's statements on the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATOAmerican trap for the Scandinavian countriesThe United States is driving Sweden and Finland into a trap, supporting their membership in NATO, this opinion is expressed in an article in the Chinese newspaper Global Times.According to experts, after joining the North Atlantic Alliance, the two Scandinavian countries may find themselves in an American trap and further worsen the security situation in Eastern Europe. According to Cui Hongjian, director of the European department of the China Institute of International Studies, the inclusion of Sweden and Finland in a military bloc will allow the States to use their territory to deploy strategic weapons directed against Russia. 
Greek PM calls bargaining over Sweden and Finland NATO membership inappropriateUnexpected consequences of NATO expansion in ScandinaviaNATO expansion in Northern Europe will destabilize the Arctic and lead to its military nation, writes The National Interest columnist Katherine Urban. According to the expert, the desire of Stockholm and Helsinki to become NATO members will upset the balance of interests and lead to far-reaching consequences for stability in this part of the planet. The border between Finland and Russia is likely to become a militarized zone in the Arctic and Subarctic, the journalist predicts. The entry of the Scandinavian states into the North Atlantic Alliance will eliminate the possibility of normal interaction with Moscow and bring the conflict closer, the material summarizes.
