- Turkey has accused Sweden and Finland of harbouring Kurdish militants.
- Turkey has agreed to drop its veto of the countries’ Nato applications in exchange for extradition of militants.
- Officials from Turkey, Finland, and Sweden will meet in August to assess progress in meeting Ankara’s demands.
According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Sweden and Finland have yet to extradite suspected Kurdish militants to Turkey as part of a deal that would grant the Nordic countries Nato membership.
Turkey has accused Sweden and Finland of harbouring Kurdish militants, but it has agreed to drop its veto of the countries’ Nato applications in exchange for the militants’ extradition on terrorism-related charges.
While Turkey has not set a firm deadline, it has stated that it expects the extradition of 73 people to occur as soon as possible and that it is closely monitoring the situation.
Turkey has stated that if the pledges are not kept, it will block the Scandinavian countries’ Nato membership bids.
“Sweden maintains an ongoing dialogue with Turkey and Finland on the trilateral agreement, which Sweden is following and will fully implement in accordance with Swedish and international law,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.
According to diplomatic sources, Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned the Swedish embassy’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara to express its “strong reaction” to what it called “terrorist propaganda” displayed during a Kurdish group’s protest in Stockholm.
In August, officials from Turkey, Finland, and Sweden will meet to assess progress in meeting Ankara’s demands.
While Turkey delays ratifying the two countries’ membership applications, 18 of Nato’s 30 members have already approved Sweden’s application to join the alliance.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland made bids to join NATO.
Late on June 28, Turkey dropped its veto on Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, putting them on a fast track to membership.
Its main concern had been Finland and Sweden’s tolerance of the PKK, a Kurdish nationalist organisation widely considered a terrorist organisation.
Finland’s 1,300-kilometer border with Russia means that Moscow will have a border with Nato, extending from the Arctic to the Mediterranean Sea.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the two countries’ admission would lay the groundwork for the alliance “in a more dangerous and unpredictable world,” alter regional security, and strengthen the alliance’s presence in Europe.
Both countries bring formidable military power, with the Finnish military capable of quickly mobilising up to 240,000 soldiers.
It is also strengthening its navy in the Baltic Sea with new frigates, and it has agreed to purchase 64 F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States.
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