SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

Turkey’s Erdogan to meet Swedish PM Kristersson to discuss extraditions, NATO bid

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has stated that he will meet with Sweden’s new Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, to discuss Stockholm’s NATO bid as well as the extradition of people Ankara regards as terrorists.

In reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland announced bids to join NATO in May, but they were met with opposition from Turkey.

Ankara accuses them of harbouring people it deems terrorists, namely Kurdish militants and those accused of involvement in a 2016 coup attempt.

Erdogan said Kristersson, who took office on Monday, sided with the fight againt terrorism, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.

“He has statements such as ‘we should not be harbouring terrorism and terrorists’,” Erdogan said. “Of course we will have tested their sincerity on this issue in the meeting that we will hold.”

Erdogan made his comments to Turkish media on a return flight from a trip to Azerbaijan on Thursday.

 

Speaking in Helsinki on Friday after a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom welcomed the discussions.

“In the fullness of time, we believe that everything will lead to…the ratification of and by the Turkish parliament of the application of Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” Billstrom told reporters.

He said the new Swedish government would continue to implement the trilateral agreement struck in Madrid to smooth the path into NATO for Sweden and Finland.

“Among other things, countering terrorism will be a priority for Sweden before and after our accession to NATO,” he said.

Erdogan has said Turkey’s parliament would not approve the Nordic countries’ NATO bids if they do not extradite the people Ankara has requested.

Sweden has taken “concrete action” to address Turkey’s concerns over its NATO membership bid, Stockholm told Ankara in a letter dated Oct. 6 and seen by Reuters.

    Source:
  • Reuters