Recently, the Nordic countries Finland and Sweden have clearly announced that they will formally apply to NATO for membership in June. In this regard, Russia not only issued a severe warning, but also recently directly deployed the "iskander" ballistic missile to the Finnish border. According to the data, the missile has a range of 500 kilometers and can carry nuclear warheads. It seems that Finland and Sweden are determined to join NATO, and Russia is also impolite, directly enhancing nuclear deterrence. In order to help Finland and Sweden reduce the pressure from Russia,The United States and Britain have stated that they will provide security protection for the two countries. After that, the Nordic countries also made security commitments to Finland and Sweden. However, Turkey, a member of NATO, has poured cold water on it.
According to the report of the Global Times on May 18th, recently, the Nordic countries Sweden and Finland have confirmed that they will submit formal applications for joining NATO, and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg also said that they will let the two countries join NATO with "the fastest speed". For Finland and Sweden, at present, the two countries are in a very dangerous situation, because Russia has always opposed the two countries becoming NATO countries. This time, the Nordic countries jointly applied to join NATO, which is to break the ground at the age of three and openly oppose Russia. Everyone is worried about how Putin and the warring nations will respond and whether a new war will break out.
Therefore, for Sweden and Finland, the period between submitting their applications and formally becoming NATO countries is undoubtedly the most dangerous. Russia may take military action against them, but at this time they are not members of NATO, and NATO cannot provide them with comprehensive military support.
In order to ensure the smooth entry of the two countries, the core members of NATO, the United States and Britain, have successively provided security guarantees to these two countries. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg also said that as long as the two countries submit their applications, NATO will provide them with military protection, that is, escort them to join NATO. It is noteworthy that after the United States and Britain, three other Nordic countries have also made security commitments to Sweden and Finland.
Denmark, Iceland and Norway recently issued a joint statement, which clearly promised that if the two countries were attacked in the process of applying to join NATO, the three countries would fully provide them with security assistance. That is to say, although Sweden and Finland are still in the stage of submitting applications and have not yet become full members of NATO, they have begun to enjoy the security guarantee that only some NATO members can enjoy. Then, why should the United States, Britain and the Nordic countries scramble to provide security guarantees for the two countries? This may be due to the following reasons.
First of all, the US-led NATO military bloc has long intended to attract Sweden and Finland to join. Sweden is a military power in northern Europe, and Finland’s geostrategic position is very important. It controls the Gulf of Finland, which is the only seaport for Russia to enter the Baltic Sea and the only sea route for Russia to maintain contact with the mainland in Kaliningrad, an "enclave" in Europe. In addition, Finland faces Russia’s most prosperous western city across the sea, only about 170 kilometers away from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city. Once Finland becomes a NATO country, there will never be peace in western Russia.
Secondly, the United States, Britain and the Nordic countries decided that Russia would not make moves at this time to prevent the two countries from joining NATO. On the one hand, Russia has fallen into a long-term military conflict with Ukraine, and two-front operations are not good for the fighting nations; On the other hand, the United States and Britain believe that knowing that NATO has provided military security guarantees to the two countries, Russia probably will not risk a direct conflict with NATO and send troops to Finland or Sweden.
Finally, the United States, Britain and the Nordic countries also want to strengthen the determination of the two countries to join NATO. However, it should be pointed out that if the two countries want to join NATO, they must get Turkey’s consent. As long as one NATO country doesn’t agree, they can’t become NATO countries. Recently, Turkish President Erdogan has publicly said that it is futile for the two countries to join NATO, because Turkey will not agree, because the PKK, a terrorist organization identified by Turkey, can freely conduct political activities in these Nordic countries, and Turkey has always regarded Sweden and Finland as a "semi-hostile country". Therefore, if the two countries really want to become a member of NATO, I am afraid it is not so smooth, and they must transfer their interests to Turkey.