Sweden evades Turkey’s demands in the middle of the NATO membership attempt
Sweden drew the ire of Türkiye again when a group of supporters of PKK the terrorist group hung a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Stockholm on Thursday. The Nordic country, along with Finland, previously appeared eager to ease Turkey’s concerns about its tolerance of terrorist groups, including the PKK and the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ).
But as Turkey approaches general elections, Stockholm has shown that it is dragging its feet with concrete measures against the terrorist groups.
Ankara sees the latest demonstration by PKK supporters as a concrete display of Sweden’s failure to implement the steps required under the tripartite memorandum signed with Finland and Turkey during a NATO summit in Madrid. The message says one of NATO’s key elements is unwavering solidarity and cooperation in the fight against terrorism, “which poses a direct threat to the national security of allies.” The latest incident shows that both countries are waiting for the Turks choice scheduled for June, although Erdoğan has signaled that the polls could be pushed back to an earlier date.
Sweden’s Supreme Court was recently behind a controversial ruling that rejected the extradition of Bülent Keneş, a prominent figure within FETÖ wanted by Türkiye. Still, questions remain over whether he will face a new trial after a strict anti-terror law came into effect earlier this month. In addition, further constitutional amendments to improve the fight against terrorism in Sweden are expected to be implemented on 1 July. On the other hand, a day after the PKK supporter meeting, Swedish media announced that the government approved a ruling in December by a supreme court against the extradition of four FETÖ refugees to Türkiye. Stockholm approved the decision on December 22, 2022. One of four names was Murat Cetiner, a FETÖ suspect, who, like Keneş, was protected by Sweden, despite terrorism charges against him by Türkiye. Çetiner has told a Swedish TV channel that he was satisfied with the decision.
Against the background of this development, a trilateral meeting will be held between Turkey, Sweden and Finland shortly. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg proposed that the meeting be held in Brussels, according to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Çavuşoğlu said Ankara had accepted the proposal.