..NATO CONSTANT EXPASION = NOT A SAFER WORLD
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welcome to Oracle eyes these days the most important decisions about the future of the war between Ukraine and Russia are being made in the baltics and Scandinavian regions the most critical phenomenon is the preparation of NATO to welcome its 32nd member so the focus is now on the accession of Finland and then Sweden to the international military Alliance having renounced their historical non-aligned status Sweden and Finland applied to join nato in May 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine both Nordic countries have taken several steps to move the process forward including lifting deao defense embargos against Anora Finland became a member in April while Sweden's accession process was ongoing in the midst of Russia's nearly 2-year War in Ukraine the Biden Administration has come to see NATO enlargement as an important foreign policy priority in this context NATO under the leadership of the US has made great efforts for Sweden to join nato in order to form a Scandinavian power Union after Finland turkey has given the most support to these efforts in recent days after postponing a vote on Sweden's NATO membership the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly decided last week to go ahead with the vote after a rare phone call between erdogan and US President Joe Biden turkey's move virtually pulled the plug on Russia in the international diplomatic Arena Putin did not expect such a surprise move from erdogan the Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs committee approved Sweden's accession to Nato and agreed to take up the issue in a full parliamentary vote the accession protocol will be voted on by the full Parliament after the speaker of Parliament Newman culus has scheduled a debate on the issue the decision comes after Turkish president RB tayb erdogan said last week that his country was trying to make progress simultaneously with NATO enlargement and turkey's request to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets and about 50 modernization kits from the United States Anora which was excluded from a Consortium producing the Next Generation F-35 fighter jet in 2019 for buying the S400 missile defense system from Russia had sought to spend 20 billion to modernize its military aircraft while the bidden administration publicized the sale earlier this year the state dep department has yet to formally notify Congress for its review the F-16 sale does not require Congressional approval but us lawmakers have the right to veto the sale within 30 days of the state Department's notice of review some senior members of Congress have said the sale could be expedited by turkey implementing key foreign policy reforms including distancing itself from Russia and improving strained relations with European Union member Greece turkey's approval of Sweden's accession to Nato is seen as the most important event that could accelerate this on the other hand Sweden's entry into the alliance has already signaled that many things will change in the region so what changes are expected to take place in the Nordic region after Sweden joins the international military alliance with turkey's approval once Sweden joins NATO the Baltic Sea will become a geographically coherent Strate iic area or more conveniently a NATO Lake it is no coincidence that this comes at a time when the alliance is renewing its purpose and focusing on Frontline States on its northern and Eastern flanks but it is nonetheless an important development in how NATO is improving its deterrence against an aggressively Russia Sweden is believed to strengthen the alliance's overall defense and deterrent posture particularly in securing Northeastern Europe Sweden has been a close part partner of NATO for many years and is seen as one of the most trusted countries in the transatlantic community at the same time institutional and operational integration into NATO will require a rethinking of Swedish defense policy which has so far emphasized self-defense rather than Collective defense a rethinking of Swedish defense policy will be called for for Stockholm to find its voice and value over time it will have to Grapple with the complex consequences of being a member of a major Alliance as its neighbor Finland learning however by closely observing finland's accession process Stockholm could take a page from finland's playbook in fact Sweden has already signaled that it is following its neighbors lead in this regard and has begun the process of military integration into NATO following turkey's approval the Swedish authorities have again announced that they will make innovations Sweden has taken decisive steps to counter Russia's growing presence in the Arctic region by increasing its ground forces in the northern part of the Nordic country and expanding military cooperation with Norway Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson told the Warsaw security Forum that Sweden has begun work to strengthen its military presence in the northern part of the country reestablish garrisons and regimental detachments and Rangers Johnson's remarks were in line with Swedish Supreme Commander General Mikael Biden's earlier call for the establishment of a new Swedish military unit in kiruna in Lapland in the far north of Sweden srange Europe's only orbital satellite launch facility is also located just outside kiruna this could act as a serious deterrent to Russia no warships or submarines belonging to Russia's Northern Fleet joint strategic command moscow's Arctic military arm were destroyed in the conflict with with Ukraine this means that Russia still has forces in the region since the start of the war Navy ships from Russia's Northern Fleet have been deployed to the Mediterranean Black Ukraine so Sweden's deployment of a new military contingent in the far north would be a significant breakthrough against Russia's strength in the Arctic North it should also be noted that a battalion tactical group from Russia's 200th motorized rifle Brigade one of a number of Russian Arctic units in Ukraine was effectively destroyed by Ukrainian forces as Russia suffers militarily such territorial losses may be inevitable again despite such potential problems Russia sees the Arctic as critical for a possible second attack on the cola peninsula in order to maintain the nuclear deterrent capability of its Naval forces and strengthen its northern power projection but with Sweden close to joining NATO and Finland set to join the alliance in April Moscow is also aware that it faces greater challenges than its neighbors in realizing its strategic Ambitions Beyond Russia's borders there are other major challenges for Russia in the region besides Sweden's proximity to joining NATO with turkey's approval in fact it is known that the root of these problems for Russia is related to Sweden's accession to Nato and the new agreement signed Sweden which is on the verge of joining NATO has signed a defense cooperation agreement with Washington that will allow the us access to all military bases in the Nordic country the agreement was signed at the Pentagon by Swedish defense minister Johnson and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin the first comments on this striking agreement came officials Paul Johnson said that the agreement signed in Washington will create better conditions for Sweden to receive support from the United States in the event of war or crisis Johnson told Swedish broadcaster SVT that the agreement does not mean that all 17 military sites will be used but that they could be in the most militarily important places for example to store us equipment Austin said the agreement sends a strong signal to Sweden that they are committed to addressing security challenges together he is currently negotiating such an agreement with two other Scandinavian countries NATO members Finland and Denmark in other words a whole new structure is being set up in the region in line with the Norms of the international military alliance against the Russian threat and this of course seriously worries the Russian authorities especially Vladimir Putin the efforts of both the United States and Turkey for Sweden's accession to Nato are also strengthening other actors in The Nordic region in the coming days it is likely that this strong Spirit of unity gathered Under the Umbrella of NATO will leave Russia with serious problems in both the baltics and the northern Arctic thank
