Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to counter NATO expansion faced a setback as Turkey cleared the path for Sweden to join the strategic alliance. The Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership with a vote of 287 to 55, as reported by the Associated Press.
Four members abstained, and a significant number did not participate in the vote among the 600-member legislative body. Putin and his supporters have vehemently opposed NATO enlargement, claiming it endangers Russia and highlighting it as a motivating factor behind Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine almost two years ago.
Despite the opposition from the Russian president, NATO continues to expand its borders and welcomed Finland into the alliance last year. However, Sweden’s membership is uncertain due to objections from Turkey and Hungary.
If Sweden joins NATO, the alliance would have significant influence over the Baltic Sea, except for the Russian exclave Kaliningrad situated between Lithuania and Poland. Newsweek contacted Putin’s office for a response via email on Tuesday.
Dr. Erwan Lagadec, an associate research professor at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, informed Newsweek that Putin’s reaction to Finland’s entry, downplaying its significance as “not a big deal, “may be repeated if Sweden’s inclusion is confirmed.
“Finland’s accession on the face of it is such an obvious own-goal for the Kremlin,” Lagadec said. “Putin is also fully cognizant of the fact that there’s not much he can do in practice to retaliate, as his military is already overstretched in Ukraine.”
“The context of the upcoming elections in Russia makes it even more likely that Putin will dismiss the news, and let his ‘attack dogs’ do the dirty work of signaling to Russian nationalists that he’s on top of things,” he added.
Furthermore, Lagadec added that “the consequences of Sweden joining NATO are in some ways even more dire for Russia” than Finland’s membership, since “the move would complete the transformation of the Baltic Sea into a “NATO lake.”
With Turkey’s decision on Tuesday, the only remaining NATO member to endorse Sweden’s accession is Hungary. Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is frequently characterized as a Putin ally.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed his joy over Turkey’s vote in a social media post on X, previously known as Twitter, stating that it marked a significant step for his country and “one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO.”
In the previous month, Putin emphasized that he was “interested in developing relations” with NATO members and had “no reason” and “no geopolitical interest” to “fight with” member states.
“I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “Sweden has fulfilled its commitments. Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and all of us safer.” The timing of when the Hungarian parliament, currently on recess until mid-February, will address Sweden’s membership remains uncertain.
Initially, Turkish President Recep Erdoğan was against Sweden’s NATO membership bid but changed his stance after a July agreement was reached. Recently, Stockholm pledged to deploy “ground combat units” to NATO’s borders with Russia, as tensions in the region escalate.
The Baltic nations, comprising Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, have unveiled a strategy to construct numerous bunkers along their borders as a precautionary measure against any potential threat posed by Russia and its partner, Belarus.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, rejected the comments made at that moment, contending that Putin’s argument lacked credibility because of “the threats he and Kremlin pundits have recently been making against NATO member states.”
According to a recent report by ISW, Putin’s recent statements regarding the Baltic countries were interpreted as “to set information conditions” for “future escalations” that could potentially undermine and eventually break apart NATO.
