Russia's nightmare comes true – NATO expands

The NATO summit did what Russia most feared and because of which it started the war in Ukraine. The North Atlantic Alliance has decided to expand by inviting Sweden and Finland into its ranks. And Russia itself is now a strategic threat for NATO.

NATO surrounds Russia

This became possible after Turkey decided to lift its veto on Finland and Sweden joining NATO. “Today in Madrid, before the start of the NATO summit, we held a substantive meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, with the support of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,” said Finnish President Saule Niinistö.

As a result of this meeting, the Foreign Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the three countries confirming Turkey's support for the invitation of Finland and Sweden to join NATO at the Madrid Summit this week. “Concrete steps for our entry into NATO will be agreed between NATO allies over the next two days, but now this decision is inevitable,” the Finnish president said.

The memorandum emphasizes that Finland, Sweden and Turkey are “obliged to give each other full support against security threats.” These states pledged to establish a mechanism for interaction at all levels of government, including law enforcement agencies and intelligence services, which should “strengthen cooperation on countering terrorism, organized crime and common challenges.”

“President Putin has not succeeded in closing the doors NATO. On the contrary, it is the opposite of what he wanted. He wanted less NATO, but President Putin got more NATO as Finland and Sweden join our Alliance,” Stoltenberg stressed.

Now the length of the land border between Russia and NATO will more than double. The Baltic Sea will be completely surrounded by NATO countries. And the Alliance is activating a new accession procedure, which, in theory, may later be useful for Ukraine.

Recall that earlier Turkey opposed the entry of the two Scandinavian countries into NATO due to the fact that they gave asylum on their territory to representatives of the Kurds, whom Ankara considers separatists. This became possible after Finland and Sweden agreed to fulfill another condition of Turkey – to consider Turkey's applications for deportation or extradition, given the intelligence provided by Ankara.

– Russia will come to terms with the entry of these two countries into NATO. As it was before, when she threatened everyone because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and when this happened, she could not do anything. The Russian regime and propaganda perceive force and can only puff out their cheeks before an event. And after the decision is made, the Russian authorities and propaganda say that nothing terrible has happened. Although one can expect small mischief from Moscow along the line of special services, which will create provocations on the border with NATO, political scientist Oleg Sahakyan believes.

Russia is now an enemy of NATO, China is not yet

During the meeting, the Alliance leaders will adopt a new NATO strategic concept for the next 10 years. According to it, Russia after this summit will become an enemy of NATO. In the final document of the meeting, Russia's status from “strategic partner”, as it was before, will be changed to “main threat”. The corresponding new strategic concept was approved at the alliance's summit in Madrid.

“We will clearly state that Russia poses a direct threat to our security,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. NATO members have agreed to increase the number of response forces by almost eight times – from 40,000 to 300,000 troops. The contingent will be based in their own countries, but it will also be able to be sent to the states of the eastern flank, where there are borders with Russia.

“We will approve fundamental changes to our deterrence and defense with more units ready for battle, more rapid reaction forces and more prepositioned equipment. At this summit, we will approve the biggest reinforcement since the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said.< /p>

He did not name China as an adversary, but noted that Beijing is investing heavily in new military capabilities, including missiles and nuclear weapons.

The Americans are strengthening their presence in Europe

US President Joe Biden announced a significant increase in the American presence in Europe in connection with the Russian threat. “Putin has violated the peace in Europe. The US and allies are stepping up, proving that NATO is needed more than ever,” he said.

The US is sending two additional destroyers to the joint US-Spanish base Rota, and thus the number of US destroyers there will grow from 4 to 6.

In Poland, Biden said the United States will establish a permanent headquarters for the U.S. Fifth Corps, which will help improve interoperability between U.S. and NATO troops across the Alliance's eastern flank.

The U.S. will also send two additional F-35 squadrons to Britain and strengthen air defense in Germany and Italy. Romania will host a rotational brigade of up to 3,000 fighters and 2,000 other personnel.

Ukraine is not Sweden

Unlike Sweden and Finland, NATO members did not say a word about the prospects for our country to receive at least a Membership Action Plan (MAP) in the Alliance. On the other hand, NATO will supply Ukraine with as many weapons as it needs.

In his address to the NATO summit in Madrid, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the Alliance states to provide more weapons, in particular, more modern artillery. According to the President, Ukraine also needs modern anti-missile and air defenses to protect civilians from Russian missile attacks and bombing.

“By providing them to us, you can completely break Russia’s tactics of destroying cities and terrorizing civilians,” Zelensky said.

In response, NATO members promised to provide such assistance. “The states gathered here, but also many others also, they are doing their part so that Ukraine can defend itself – providing finance, humanitarian assistance, as well as weapons that Ukraine urgently needs. We will continue to do this, and do it intensively as long as it is necessary to protect Ukraine,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Madrid.

President Zelensky separately criticized NATO's “open door” policy and stressed that it is necessary to get rid of the “gray zone” between NATO and the Russian Federation.

“NATO's open door policy should not resemble the old Kyiv metro turnstiles: they are open, but when you come up, the turnstiles are closed until you pay. Has Ukraine not yet paid enough? Is our contribution to the protection of both Europe and the whole civilization still insufficient? So what else is needed?” – said the Ukrainian president.

In the meantime, the Madrid summit will agree on a new aid package for Ukraine. The heads of state and government are expected to approve a new broad aid package for Ukraine. According to preliminary information, it will include short-term and immediate measures, for example, the supply of fuel, protective equipment, portable means to combat drones, secure communications, and other military equipment.

– Two Scandinavian countries were invited to join the Alliance , but not Ukraine, because they have not undergone a regression of reforms over the past decades. And according to all formal indicators and NATO standards, Sweden and Finland not only meet them, but exceed the NATO average in almost all indicators. And besides this, for example, the same Finland will be a security donor country for the Bloc. To date, it has the most combat-ready army on the northern and western wings of the Alliance. It re-equipped its army and increased its combat capability, unlike other European countries, political scientist Oleg Sahakyan believes.