As long as Sweden does not extradite terrorists wanted by Türkiye, Ankara will not approve their NATO membership, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday.
Addressing accompanying Turkish press members on his way back from Azerbaijan, Erdoğan touched upon Sweden's ongoing reluctance to extradite terror suspects wanted by Türkiye. The president said Ankara would not change its stance against the country's accession until it extradited terrorists residing within its borders to Türkiye.
"Of course, I do not evaluate (this situation) positively. Meanwhile, Sweden's new prime minister requested an appointment. I told our friends to 'give an appointment.' We can discuss these issues with him in our country," Erdoğan said.
The president underlined that Türkiye has not changed its stance on the issue and added: "These terrorists, who have been subjected to such penal sanctions, should be caught and handed over to us. Unless these are given to us, this will not work at the parliamentary stage. The approach of the current new prime minister is in favor of the fight against terrorism and terrorists; Of course, we will test their sincerity on this issue through our meeting."
"Our stance will not change. Because we are uncompromising in the fight against terrorism and we have no intention of making any concessions."
The Swedish government will redouble efforts to implement the trilateral memorandum signed with Türkiye, which would open the door for the Nordic country to join NATO, Sweden’s newly elected Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Kristersson said: “The trilateral memorandum has established new platforms for cooperation in the fight against terrorism between Sweden and Türkiye. Counterterrorism is a priority for Sweden ahead of and after our accession to NATO.”
“I am very prepared to go to Ankara as soon as possible,” Kristersson added, saying that he conveyed this to Türkiye and that a timetable is being planned. “We take our commitments very seriously,” he underlined.
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. Türkiye's parliament must ratify the country's approval for Finland and Sweden's membership for them to join NATO.
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'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. Among Türkiye’s demands were the repatriation of some suspects and Sweden lifting its arms embargo. Sweden said that it is ready to supply weapons to Türkiye as part of its bid to join NATO.
On recent fabricated allegations by PKK terrorists on the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish military, Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye had never used chemical weapons and said legal action would be taken against those making such allegations.
Underlining that all of Türkiye's actions complied with international law, he said: "This isn't the first time they're making such slander. They're impertinent, they're depraved. This is the mud they always sling at our army."
Turkish Defense Ministry on Thursday also rejected the "completely baseless and untrue" allegations.
Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Thursday jointly inaugurated the Zangilan International Airport, Azerbaijan's second airport in territories reclaimed from Armenia during the 2020 Karabakh War.
"Re-establishing the region's connection with the world and strengthening the transportation lines are strategic moves. Hopefully, we will crown these breakthroughs by opening Lachin Airport next year," Erdoğan said.
The president said that during his talks with Aliyev, they also discussed peace and stability in the Caucasus region.
"Determining the borders, opening the connection road between Nakhchivan (autonomous region) and the western regions of Azerbaijan, and signing a peace agreement will be important steps for the region's normalization," he added.
Erdoğan also said there was no doubt that progress in talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia would boost the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan, as well.
