Sweden “100% behind” NATO accession agreement with Turkey: Prime Minister
STOCKHOLM
Sweden fully supports the NATO accession agreement reached with Turkey, the country’s prime minister said on Thursday.
– We are 100% behind the agreement, says Magdalena Andersson to SVD.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join the alliance last month, a decision spurred on by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
But Türkiye, a longtime member of the alliance, objected to the membership offerings and criticized the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
Following talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders of the two Nordic countries and NATO in Madrid, a trilateral memorandum was signed on Tuesday to pave the way for the alliance to officially invite Finland and Sweden to join its ranks.
The two countries have promised to address Turkey’s concerns about terrorism and lift an arms embargo on Ankara.
It also states that Finland and Sweden will work closely with Turkey on issues relating to the exchange of information, extradition and, in general, the fight against terrorism.
On the issue of extradition, Andersson said that Türkiye had previously requested extradition “and we have dealt with them.”
“Sometimes people have been expelled, but most of the time not,” she said.
At a press conference in Madrid earlier on Thursday, Erdogan hailed the memorandum as a “diplomatic victory” for Turkey.
He said that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 terrorists to Turkey, adding that Ankara would closely monitor the implementation of the points agreed in the memorandum “and take action accordingly.”
Anadolu Agency’s website contains only some of the news offered to subscribers of the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summary form. Contact us for subscription options.