BRUSSELS, July 12. /TASS/. Turkey seeks trade preferences and visa-free travel from the European Union and has no illusions about its chance of joining the EU in exchange for agreeing to let Sweden into NATO, Russia’s Acting Permanent Representative to the EU Kirill Logvinov told TASS on Wednesday, commenting on the July 10 agreement between Turkey, Sweden, NATO and the European Union.

"Turkey realized perfectly well long ago that no one expects it in the European Union. However, this does not prevent [the country] from ‘going on the offensive’ and employing diplomatic levers in its dialogue with the EU, which was done in recent days in the context of saying yes to Sweden’s membership in NATO. For Ankara, a bird in the hand means expanding the customs union with the EU, that is, a drastic change in trade and economic relations with the EU, as well as its granting visa-free travel," he said.

"It is absolutely wrong to talk about the exchange of ‘Sweden in NATO’ for ‘Turkey in the EU’. In fact, this has already been confirmed by the European Commission, stating that the enlargement of the European Union and the alliance are two parallel and unrelated tracks," he added.