ANKARA, May 13. /TASS/. Turkey should veto the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO in order to avoid risks for its own security, Turkish political and economic scientist and former trade representative to Russia Aydin Sezer has told TASS.
"I don’t think that Turkey will veto their admission to NATO," he said. "It may try to slow down the process, but it seems to me that in the end, President Tayyip Erdogan won’t be able to create a force that can speak out against the United States and NATO."
In his words, the Turkish public opposes mainly Sweden’s NATO membership, primarily due to Stockholm’s support of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK, designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey).
"In this regard, circles that favor Eurasianism believe that Turkey should veto Sweden’s membership. I also think so, [it is important] for preventing risks for Turkey’s own security," he added.
The discussion of Finland’s possible NATO membership intensified in early April. The main members of the alliance supported this initiative. In Finland, the majority of the members of the parliament upheld the idea of joining the bloc. Earlier, the Finnish president said that the country’s possible NATO membership is not directed against other countries, while the main goal of this move is the bolstering of national security.
In addition to Finland, Sweden is also considering joining NATO. As reported earlier, on May 13, an interparty analysis of the situation in the sphere of the security policy will be ready in Sweden and the ruling Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SAP) will make a decision with regard to joining NATO on May 15.