No progress has been seen on the return of terrorist suspects as part of a trilateral deal with Finland and Sweden for the Nordic countries’ NATO bid, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday.
Speaking after a NATO meeting in Romania, Çavuşoğlu said: "These two countries have taken some steps in regard to their commitments, we do not ignore these steps. However, there is no concrete progress on some issues, especially on the return of criminals and the freezing of assets of terrorist elements."
On another note, he also said that Türkiye welcomes the new Swedish government's commitment to the fight against terrorism.
"Separately from the NATO accession bids, we're aware that the new government is more sincere in the fight against terrorism," he added, referring to Sweden's government that took power in October.
The Turkish people and Parliament need to be convinced in order to approve Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession, he added.
Seeking Türkiye's greenlight to join NATO, Sweden and Finland's foreign ministers on Tuesday met their Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of a meeting of the alliance in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
For Sweden and Finland to become NATO members, their applications must be ratified by all 30 NATO members. So far, 28 have already done so – only Türkiye and Hungary have votes still pending.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
A trilateral memorandum at the NATO Madrid summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoots, the YPG and the PYD, or the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) – the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
Sweden and Finland agreed earlier this summer to assure Türkiye of their support against security risks.
On the war in Ukraine, Çavuşoğlu said his country continues its humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its people and vowed to continue efforts for confidence-building measures.
"Our greatest goal is to keep diplomatic channels open. We are explaining and showing the necessity of maintaining diplomacy even when the war continues," he said.
Türkiye enabled a prisoner swap between the warring countries. Also, Turkish mediation proved vital in facilitating the signing of a deal between Türkiye, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul to reopen certain Ukrainian ports to release grain that had been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war – a development that has been crucial in responding to a growing global food crisis.
Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has won widespread appreciation for its push to end the war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29. Türkiye also hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya in March.
Asked about Türkiye's expectations from its NATO allies on its counterterrorism efforts, Çavuşoğlu said: "The support of some allies, particularly the U.S., for terror groups in Syria is crystal clear. Thus, we reiterate the need to end these kinds of support."
Türkiye has long protested U.S. support for the YPG/PKK terrorist group in northern Syria along Türkiye's borders, with the U.S. saying it allies with the group to fight Daesh. Turkish authorities say it makes no sense to use one terrorist group to fight another.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is its terrorist branch in Syria.