Türkiye expects more 'concrete steps' from Sweden, FM Çavuşoğlu tells counterpart

Sweden has not taken any concrete steps to address Türkiye's security concerns, Türkiye's foreign minister said yesterday (December 22) at a joint press conference with his counterpart from Sweden in Ankara.

"There is no concrete development regarding the extradition of terrorist-related criminals and the freezing of terrorist assets," Çavuşoğlu said, adding that Sweden remains a "center of attraction" for the

The minister added that Sweden remains a "center of attraction" for the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group held responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.

"We welcome the extradition of a person who is not on our list. This week, the request for the extradition of a FETÖ member to our country was rejected by the Swedish Supreme Court, which is a very negative development," the minister said.

"We do not want the impossible, we ask for your support in the fight against terrorism. Our relationship with you is at the strategic partnership level, we want you to understand the security concerns of the country you want to be an ally of," Çavuşoğlu remarked.

"Sweden keeps its promises"

Tobias Billstrom said Sweden keeps its promises, and takes the trilateral deal "seriously."

"We have initiated steps on every paragraph and we will continue to implement it. We have increased our legal cooperation with Türkiye concerning suspected terrorists," Billstrom said.

The minister stressed that the justice ministries and intelligence services of the two countries are working in this regard.

He said that "the PKK maybe is not a great threat to Sweden but it is definitely a threat for Türkiye and it is something which we take very seriously as the Swedish government."

"We have been taking concrete steps to fulfill our commitments," he said, adding that 
Sweden and Finland's NATO membership will benefit NATO.

Sweden and Finland's NATO membership bids

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO on May 18, in a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the two countries for tolerating and even supporting "terrorist groups."

The three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding on June 28 at the NATO summit in Madrid, which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), which Türkiye sees as the PKK's extensions in Syria.

The Nordic countries also agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests regarding "terror" suspects.
Türkiye's parliament must ratify the country's approval for Finland and Sweden's membership for them to join NATO.

In September, Sweden lifted restrictions on arms sales to Türkiye, which was among Ankara's demands in order to approve its NATO bid.

(VK)