Sweden must extradite terrorists if it wants to join NATO: Türkiye
Turkey on Sunday criticized Sweden along with other European states for tolerating a continued terrorist presence, as the country’s president said the extradition of terrorists is a must for the Nordic country to earn the right to join NATO.
“We have told them (Sweden), ‘Look, if you do not hand over the terrorists you have, we cannot ratify this (NATO membership) in our parliament,'” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a youth meeting, referring to Sweden’s and Finland’s promises last June to take a firm stand against terrorists in order to become a member of NATO.
“First of all, they have to extradite almost 130 terrorists for their bid to go through our parliament, (but) unfortunately they have not yet done this,” he added, speaking in Mugla, southwestern Türkiye.
Referring to a joint press conference he held last November with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Erdogan said he said he told Sweden to extradite fugitive terrorist FETO suspect Bulent Kenes to Türkiye, stressing the importance of this issue.
“Interestingly, their court rejected the extradition of Bulent Kenes to us,” Erdogan added.
Kenes, former editor-in-chief of Dagens Zaman Daily and a suspected member of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), lives in Sweden.
In the defeated 2016 coup in Türkiye orchestrated by FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen, 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Saying that demonstrations by the terrorist PKK are often seen on the streets of the capital Stockholm, Erdogan underlined that Turkey repeatedly warned Sweden about this, but “despite our warnings, unfortunately, there was no action to stop the PKK/PYD demonstrations.”
The Turkish president also said that parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop canceled his Swedish counterpart Andreas Norlen’s visit to Türkiye in response to recent provocations by PKK terror group supporters carried out openly in the capital Stockholm.
“If they don’t take a stand against this situation in Sweden, it could cause the tension in our ties with Sweden to grow even more,” he added, just days after a demonstration in Stockholm directly threatened Erdogan himself.
Terrorist groups are tolerated in European countries, Türkiye will answer
Erdogan emphasized that the terrorist groups do not only have a presence in Sweden and Finland, saying they are also seen in countries such as Germany, France and the UK, although the PKK is on the European Union’s official list of terrorist groups.
“Türkiye will determine our attitude towards them accordingly,” he stressed.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG/PYD is its Syrian branch.
According to a June memorandum between Türkiye, Sweden and Finland, the two Nordic countries pledged to take action against terrorists in order to gain membership in the NATO alliance, which they are seeking against the background of the nearby Russian war against Ukraine.
Unanimous agreement from all NATO members – including Türkiye, a member for more than 70 years – is required for any new members to be admitted to the alliance.
Türkiye has praised some steps taken by Sweden and Finland but says the countries must do more, especially after a provocative terrorist demonstration last week in Stockholm, Sweden that directly threatened the Turkish president.
Playing a unique role in the world, Türkiye’s “work is not done”
Emphasizing that Turkey’s role in global politics is unique, Erdogan said that Turkey was the country to solve the critical issue of the Black Sea Grain Corridor.
“Our work is not done. When everyone attacked Russia, we didn’t do it. On the contrary, we maintained our ties with Mr. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. In fact, he made a nice offer and said: ‘Let me send grain for free,'” Erdogan said.
In response, Erdogan said Turkey promised to make flour from the Russian grain and send it to African countries in need.
“Our goal now is to produce flour from the wheat and then send it to poor African countries. Because 44% went to Europe so far while 14% was sent to Africa. Now we will balance this and send it to African countries”, he added.
Last July, Türkiye, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked by the war, risking a world food crisis.
A joint coordination center with officials from the three countries and the United Nations was established in Istanbul to monitor the grain shipments.
The first ship carrying grain under the historic deal departed on August 1 from the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
Türkiye, internationally renowned for its unique mediating role between Ukraine and Russia, has repeatedly called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations.