Today, Sunday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed his confidence in Sweden and Finland's joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after submitting a formal request in this regard, despite Turkey's objection.

Blinken told reporters, after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, that the United States would strongly support the application of both Sweden and Finland to join if they chose to formally seek membership in the alliance, adding, "I am very confident that a consensus will be reached."

The US official stated that every NATO member "wants to put an end to the war in Ukraine and we are committed to supporting it," explaining that the European Union is continuing its efforts to stop dependence on Russian oil and fill any energy gaps that Europe suffers from.

Blinken pledged to strengthen the transatlantic partnership in the face of what he called "Russian aggression and our defense partnership" with Australia and Japan, adding that Washington is looking forward to the next meeting in Paris to strengthen the US-European partnership.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin (Reuters)

Today, Sunday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told CNN that his last conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin about plans to join NATO was calm and good.

At a press conference after the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg considered the efforts of Finland and Sweden to join NATO as proof of the futility of "Russian aggression against Ukraine", and described the moment of their accession, if they decided to do so, as historic.

For her part, German Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock stressed the need for NATO not to retreat from military support to Ukraine as long as it needs it to defend itself.

Birbock confirmed that NATO's doors are open for Sweden and Finland to join, and that its members are ready for this accession when the two countries are ready.

Norway's Foreign Minister, Anneken Hoetveld, considered this a turning point in the Nordic security policy.

The Deputy Secretary-General of NATO, Mircea Jiwana, said that if Finland and Sweden decided to apply for membership in the alliance, the request would be dealt with constructively, and Jiwana added that he was sure that Turkey's concerns about Finland and Sweden joining the alliance can be addressed.

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said she hoped the NATO ratification process for Finland and Sweden would be completed within weeks.


this week

In Sweden, local media reported that Stockholm intends to apply for membership in NATO next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Senior officials of the Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson, will hold a meeting on Sunday afternoon to decide whether the party should abandon its historic anti-NATO line, which it reiterated during its conference last November.

Voices rose in the party condemning what they saw as a hasty decision, but analysts believe that the party is unlikely to decide not to follow suit, and Russia is mired in its war in Ukraine.

Turkish reservation

Regarding the Turkish reservation on the accession of Sweden and Finland, Blinken said that he spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about it, and said that he was "confident that a consensus will be reached."

The Deputy Secretary-General of NATO confirmed that Turkey had informed the alliance of its concerns and reservations about the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining it.

This came in a press statement made by Giwana, today, Sunday, before his participation in the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO countries held in the German capital (Berlin).


He explained that discussions with the Turkish side took place yesterday evening, Saturday, regarding the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, and that those discussions were "transparent and constructive."

"Turkey is an important ally, and Ankara has informed us of its concerns and reservations about the accession of these two countries to the alliance," he said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister had previously made clear that any country that would be a member of NATO should not support the PKK organization.

Cavusoglu pointed out that Sweden and Finland publicly support the PKK despite all warnings, which reflects negatively on the feelings of the Turkish people.


Russia's position

Russia had previously hinted at "military-technical" responses to the Finnish move, without specifying what it was.

On Friday, Russia suspended its electricity exports to Finland, which represented about 10% of the Scandinavian country's consumption.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said that "the expansion of NATO does not make our continent more stable and secure."

"It is not possible that this will not arouse our regret and serve as a justification for similar equitable responses on our part," Peskov added, without elaborating.

A few days ago, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia should take "retaliatory steps, whether military-technical or of another nature, in order to stop the growth of threats to its national security."

"Helsinki should be aware of the responsibilities and consequences of such a move," she added.