Turkey welcomes Sweden’s extradition of wanted convict – 104.5 WOKV
ANKARA, Turkey — (AP) — Turkey on Monday welcomed Sweden’s extradition of a convicted member of a banned militant group, calling it a “start” that showed Stockholm’s sincerity in easing Turkey’s security concerns.
NATO member Turkey has held up bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance, pushing for the two Nordic countries to crack down on what they consider to be terrorist organizations and hand over suspects wanted in Turkey.
On Saturday, Sweden deported an unnamed man who fled there after being convicted by a Turkish court of membership in an armed organization in 2015. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency identified the man as Mahmut Tat, who had been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
“We see this as a start to show (Sweden’s) sincerity and good will,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in an interview with state TV channel TRT. “God willing, (the extraditions) will continue with the same sincerity.”
Tat was convicted of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has led a decades-long separatist insurgency in Turkey. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU.
According to Swedish media, the man had lived in the western part of the country where he worked in the restaurant industry.
Meanwhile, Finland’s government met on Monday morning to reach a final agreement on its NATO membership bill, which will be presented to parliament later in the day.
The center-left coalition wants the legislature to begin considering the decision to join NATO – although Finland’s membership of the military alliance still needs to be ratified by Hungary and Turkey. Hungary is expected to do so in early February, but Turkey has still not announced when the case will be decided.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said at a press conference after the meeting that even without the final approvals and full membership, Finland can participate in all NATO activities except decision-making itself.
He emphasized that Finland’s NATO membership would not change its fundamental long-term foreign policy.
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