Exposing US ransom to Erdogan for Sweden's NATO membership

According to a prominent American publicist and researcher, Washington promised Erdogan $11 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund so that Ankara would agree to Sweden joining NATO.US President Joe Biden allegedly promised Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the amount of $11-13 billion in exchange for the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership. This statement was made by the American publicist Seymour Hersh, referring to his own sources.

A posting posted on Hersh's website claims that "Biden promised that the IMF would provide Turkey with a much-needed $11-13 billion credit line." "Biden needed a victory (in the election campaign), and Turkey is experiencing an acute financial crisis," the publicist quoted the source as saying.

On Monday, Turkey agreed to lift its veto on Sweden's admission to NATO following Erdogan's consultations with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and European Council President Charles Michel ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius. At the same time, Sweden promised Turkey not to support organizations declared terrorist by Ankara, in particular the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and to provide it with all possible assistance in the issue of European integration.

Biden previously expressed confidence that in light of Ankara's agreement to admit Sweden to NATO, the alliance's summit in Vilnius can be considered historic. He expressed hope for strengthening cooperation between the US and Turkey within NATO. The Turkish leader, in turn, announced the beginning of a new stage in relations between Washington and Ankara.Following these statements, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mentioned in political circles the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO as a serious security threat.