A trilateral meeting of representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 9. On the agenda was the issue of ratifying the Scandinavian countries’ applications for NATO membership.
Ankara protested more than once, referring to the insufficient efforts of countries in the fight against terrorism, put forward conditions and this time did not betray itself, demanding a ban on the burning of the Koran at the legislative level.
The parties failed to agree on anything significant, the press did not wait for the official communiqué. Unless the representative of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Turkey’s readiness for Sweden and Finland to join NATO when they fully comply with the terms of the tripartite memorandum signed in June 2022.
Experts note that Erdogan is not just so categorical towards Sweden (he is more loyal to the Finns). Here it is worth paying attention to domestic political issues and the upcoming elections in Turkey.
“Erdogan is forced to take into account the domestic political situation and the economic situation. Anti-American sentiment in Turkey is very strong, all public opinion polls over the past 10 years clearly show that most Turks do not like the United States and the NATO organization where their country is located. And with his experience, Erdogan understands that it is absolutely not worth making sudden movements before the presidential elections, scheduled for May so far, ”said Elena Suponina, a member of the Russian Council on International Affairs, an orientalist.
Another reason could be Turkey’s attempt to put pressure on the US to get F-16 fighter jets. The Turks, according to Suponina, have been using every opportunity for the past three years to remind the Americans of this problem.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
Turkish transit: how is the process of approval by Ankara of applications to NATO
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