Swedish state secretary Oscar Stenström said Tuesday that within the scope of the NATO agreement signed by Türkiye, Finland and Sweden, a decision has been made to increase cooperation between Turkish and Swedish security units, describing the recent talks as "constructive."
Stenström evaluated the first meeting of the joint mechanism held in Finland on Aug. 26 to Aftonbladet newspaper.
"The talks with Türkiye were constructive and open-hearted. At the meeting, it was decided to increase the cooperation between the security units of the countries in accordance with the agreement. The meeting should be seen as part of a deepened, long-term cooperation between Sweden and Türkiye. Considering the background of Sweden's NATO membership, this cooperation is important and natural," he said.
Türkiye, Sweden and Finland continue to discuss the two Scandinavian countries' NATO bids as efforts are made to clear up misunderstandings, reported the Swedish daily on Tuesday in reference to the meeting held between the three countries on Sept.2.
The Turkish delegation argued that Sweden has not fulfilled what was agreed in the settlement during the NATO summit held in Madrid in June, said Aftonbladet, citing Swedish officials.
The daily added that the Turkish delegation also showed photographs from demonstrations in Sweden where the PKK terrorist group's flags were waved.
"The meeting was constructive and was held in a good spirit, but the Turkish delegation continued to criticize several points which the Swedish side partly thinks are incorrect. Therefore, these meetings have been partly about clearing up misunderstandings," the officials told the paper.
Türkiye has provided no information whatsoever on when it may approve Sweden and Finland's NATO applications, the daily reported.
In May, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye, a NATO member for more than 70 years, opposed the two countries' membership aspirations due to their tolerance and even backing for terrorist groups, including the PKK, its Syrian branch the YPG and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
FETÖ orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured. FETÖ was also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state by infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
On June 28, the trio signed a trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit in Madrid to address Türkiye's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership.
The Turkish delegation of the mechanism was chaired by Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal, with the participation of representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, interior and justice, as well as intelligence services and security institutions.
The Swedish delegation was chaired by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Security Oscar Stenstrom and Finland's delegation was headed by Permanent State Secretary for the Foreign Ministry Jukka Salovaara.
During the meeting, the working principles of the mechanism were determined, developments regarding the implementation of the commitments made in the trilateral memorandum were reviewed and concrete steps to be taken in the coming period were emphasized.
Finland and Sweden reiterated that they will show full solidarity and cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against terror groups and that they will not support the groups threatening Türkiye's national security.
They agreed to intensify cooperation at the technical level between the relevant institutions in order to achieve concrete progress on the issues.
Following the meeting, Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the talks between the three countries had been positive.
Ankara made it clear that it will oppose the Nordic countries' NATO membership if its security concerns have not been met.
