Negotiations on the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO ended without even starting.

After the NATO member countries tried to conduct the first stage of negotiations on the admission of Sweden and Finland to the military bloc, it became known that Turkey immediately exercised its right to become a NATO member and blocked consideration of this issue, thereby depriving two potential new members Alliance opportunities to be accepted into the block.

In fact, the negotiations themselves have not even begun - Turkey blocked the consideration of the issue of admitting Sweden and Finland to NATO at a preliminary stage, thereby demonstrating its readiness for direct confrontation with other members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“Turkey blocked NATO's initial decision to process requests from Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance, casting doubt on hopes for a quick entry by the two Scandinavian countries. NATO ambassadors met on Wednesday to begin accession talks on the same day Finland and Sweden filed their bids, but Ankara's opposition halted any vote, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The delay raises doubts that NATO will be able to approve the first round of applications from Finland and Sweden within one to two weeks, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. It is also setting the stage for several days of intense diplomacy between the US, Turkey, Finland and Sweden on the issue. All 30 existing NATO members must ratify Finland and Sweden's bids, but that process only begins after the defense alliance issues an accession protocol and formally invites the two countries to join.

Turkey has not officially clarified its position on this issue, however, earlier sources reported that Ankara intends to demand the lifting of sanctions for the purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems and the return of F-35 fighters to the program.