The dissonance within NATO was once again Turkey during the dinner of foreign ministers, against the background of the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.
According to reports, during the informal foreign ministers' dinner, the overwhelming majority of member states were in favour of Finland and Finland joining the Alliance immediately
In fact, a "competition" was observed as to which country would ratify the relevant accession protocols more quickly, implying that a positive outcome of the negotiations is predetermined.
Turkey's dissent
The only dissent in the process was Turkey, which, through Mevlut Cavusoglu, referred to alleged links between the two countries with "terrorist" organisations.
All these accusations were dismissed by concerned countries, while some allies were quick to point out that in the face of a historic moment, where unity in the face of Russian aggression is required, divergences should not appear.
According to reports in the Turkish media in recent minutes, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto says he is ready to meet with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over concerns about NATO membership.
The Greek position, as expressed by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, is that the accession of Sweden and Finland will strengthen the front of the principles of democracy and respect for international law, principles and values that NATO must uphold.
How to explain Turkey's stance
In any case, it is not surprising that its president was the only one of the "30" leaders to object to enlargement with Finland and Sweden, questioning an option with strategic characteristics and suggesting that it might even block or at least delay it.
The truth is that Erdogan has more than one reason to act in this way. The obvious one is that he does not want to blow up his relations and business with Putin's Russia, all the more so as their fates are closely tied on a number of fronts: Libya, Syria and the Caucasus, energy, armaments and tourism.
But there are others. One of them is that the Scandinavians - especially the Swedes - have repeatedly cornered Ankara over its actions on several occasions. From Cyprus, the invasion and occupation of its northern part to the refugee issue, human rights and the Turkish army's operations in third countries.
So, looking further ahead, Erdogan does not want to give a blank cheque to an enlargement with countries which, in the future, may turn against them. As Greece has done and is doing, according to his claims, as he did not hesitate to berate both NATO and Turkey's previous governments for the "mistake" they made in admitting it to the Alliance - which, he said, Athens is now using against Turkey (forgetting, of course, that it didn't even lift a finger during the 1974 invasion of Cyprus).
There is also no doubt that Erdogan, as an expert in the tactics of the so-called "oriental bargaining", wants to sell as dearly as possible his positive vote for the accession of Finland and Sweden. In other words, in order to do so, he will demand quid pro quo from his partners, especially from the United States, with which he has many open accounts.
Cavusoglu: Why we oppose their accession
In statements after the summit, Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that "Turkey supports NATO's open-door policy. At the meeting, we gave our reasons for Finland and Sweden's decision to join NATO. We are against them because they support terrorism."
In fact, he said, "we presented our allies with photos and documents."
"At the NATO meeting we told the member states that Sweden and Finland support the PKK terrorist organization. The countries that will be NATO allies should not support the PKK/YPG terrorist organizations," he added.
Source: in.gr
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