NATO ministers discuss Finland and Sweden joining
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led a delegation of Republican senators to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, as NATO foreign alliance ministers meet in Berlin to discuss Finland and Sweden’s accession to the Western military.
By Stefan J. Bos
Sunday’s NATO meeting will take place despite warnings from Moscow of unspecified consequences. It did little to prevent US senators from meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Zelensky shared a video from the surprise meeting online on Saturday, calling the visit a “strong signal of bipartisan support” for Ukraine.
The film shows Republican senators John Barrasso from Wyoming, Susan Collins from Maine and John Cornyn from Texas walking calmly with McConnell from Kentucky in the sunshine of Ukraine’s capital.
Elsewhere in Europe, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken rushed to Berlin, Germany, to encourage ministers from all NATO member states to accept Sweden’s and Finland’s membership. Both Nordic nations say they must join the world’s most powerful alliance, citing Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
And White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says most NATO nations support their application without delay. “I think there is no doubt, and you have seen this from the public statements of a number of NATO leaders, that there is broad support from NATO member countries in Finland and Sweden. [joining]”, she stressed.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not support NATO membership in Sweden and Finland, saying the Scandinavian countries are hostages of terrorist organizations. “
Turkish criticism
Turkey has repeatedly criticized them and other European countries for their handling of organizations considered “terrorists” by Ankara.
These groups include the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, and supporters of US-based Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara has said that Gulenists carried out a coup attempt in 2016, but they deny the accusation.
If Finland and Sweden join, as is still expected, NATO’s land border with Russia will more than double.
Russia currently shares a land border of 1,215 kilometers (754 miles) with NATO members. Once Finland joins, it will increase to 2,600 kilometers (1,616 miles).
While both countries had already cooperated with NATO, joining the alliance would bring Sweden and Finland under the umbrella of Article 5. It guarantees that an attack on a NATO ally is an attack on everyone.
Finland’s President’s call to Putin
The Finnish president called his Russian counterpart to tell about the move – which Vladimir Putin described as “a mistake”.
But Finnish President Sauli Niinistö told reporters that his country had no choice but to join NATO when Moscow changed its military doctrine and invaded Ukraine.
“What happened on February 24, which continues the enormous warfare that Russia has in Ukraine, it certainly also changed the picture,” he said. “They are ready to attack a neighboring country. If that were the case we would join, my answer [to Russian President Putin] would be: ‘you caused this. Look in the mirror “, added Niinistö.
On Saturday, the Russian energy supplier RAO Nordic said that they would suspend electricity deliveries to Finland, citing payment problems.
Kharkiv push in Ukraine
In the midst of the diplomatic quarrel, Ukrainian forces are said to have driven Russian troops “far out” of Ukraine’s other city.
The mayor’s comments came after a respected military think tank said that Ukraine “probably won the battle” of Kharkiv.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “very difficult” negotiations were underway regarding the evacuation of wounded warriors from the bombed-out port city of Mariupol in the south.
And so far, the forces of Kiev and Moscow continue to engage in a fierce battle for the country’s eastern industrial heart in a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.