Today's informal NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Berlin is the focus of the world's political scene, with the participation of Finland and Sweden marking the entry into the final stretch towards the two countries' eventual accession to the alliance, which will be decided in the coming days.
Already, however, Helsinki's intention to move towards membership - as stated by the country's president and prime minister - has provoked the first reactions from Russia.
The Russian deputy foreign minister said today that Moscow "has "no hostile views towards Helsinki and Stockholm," but added that the Kremlin's response would depend on the infrastructure NATO deploys in the two countries.
"If they deploy nuclear forces near our borders, we will take all necessary measures," he said, according to RIA.
On Friday, Moscow announced it would cut off electricity exports to Finland from today, with the Finnish government stressing that "there is no risk to sufficiency," noting that electricity from Russia accounts for about 10 percent of the country's total electricity consumption.
At the same time, Helsinki "picked up the gauntlet" of repeated threats from the Kremlin, signalling that it is ready for any Russian response, even of a military nature.
The Turkish blockade
Turkey, however, has been in the frame of events since yesterday with Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressing his disagreement with the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, blackmailing the Alliance.
He said Turkey is following developments regarding Finland and Sweden, but does not view their possible NATO membership positively. The Turkish president also referred to Greece, stressing that a "mistake" had been made with our country in the past.
"We are following developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we do not have positive thoughts on the issue. Because the previous administrations regarding NATO, they made a mistake regarding Greece, and you know the attitude that Greece has towards Turkey since it is also taking NATO off its back. As Turkey, we do not want to make a second mistake," the Turkish president said.
He stressed that it is not possible for Ankara to see the plans of the two countries in a positive light, arguing that "the Nordic countries have become a harbour for terrorist organisations. The PKK and the DHKP-C have their nests in Sweden and the Netherlands. They are even in their own parliaments'. "At this point it is not possible to look at it positively," he added."
For their part, Sweden and Finland have expressed their intention to discuss with Turkey its objections. According to the foreign ministries of the two countries, the heads of diplomacy will have the opportunity to meet today in Berlin during the informal meeting of NATO ministers, to which Sweden and Finland are invited.
"I hope that we will continue to get positive signals from all 30 NATO member countries," Swedish Minister Anne Linde said.
Turkey reserves the right to veto the accession of new members to the North Atlantic Alliance, as unanimity is required for the decision.
Source.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
