Turkey has announced that it will now seek the extradition of 33 “terror” suspects from Finland and Sweden, in a deal that removed Ankara’s objections to the two Nordic states’ NATO membership applications.
The justice minister stated that Turkey would demand that they “keep their promises”
Both Finland and Sweden have been accused by Ankara of harboring Kurdish militants.
The Nordic states agreed late Tuesday to expedite Turkey’s requests for the deportation or extradition of terror suspects.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden announced in May their intent to join the 30-member Western defensive alliance.
Initially, Turkey threatened to veto their application, but after four hours of negotiations at the NATO summit in Madrid, the three nations agreed. The leaders of NATO are anticipated to extend official membership invitations to Finland and Sweden before the conclusion of the meeting.
Russia criticized NATO’s expansion as a “strictly destabilizing factor.” Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying, “The Madrid summit reaffirms the bloc’s course of aggressive containment of Russia.”
Bekir Bozdag, minister of justice, declared, “We will seek the extradition of terrorists.”
He demanded that Finland hand over six Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members and six members of the movement of exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Turkey also seeks the extradition of 11 PKK members and 10 Gulenists from Sweden.
In 1984, the PKK, which was founded in the late 1970s, waged armed conflict against the Turkish government, demanding the establishment of an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. Turkey blames the Gulenists for the 2016 failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
While the EU, US, and the UK view the PKK as a terrorist organization, they do not hold the Gulen movement in the same regard. Finland and Sweden have not publicly commented on the Turkish request as of yet.
Under Tuesday’s trilateral memorandum, Helsinki and Stockholm agreed to “prevent PKK activities” and refrain from supporting Gulenists and two other Syrian-based Kurdish groups, the YPG and PYD.
The two nations also committed to lifting restrictions on the sale of weapons to Turkey.
President Sauli Niinisto of Finland stated that the three nations signed the agreement “to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security,” while Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden described it as “a very significant step for NATO.”
The office of President Erdogan stated that it “got what it wanted.” However, the agreement was rejected by Kurdish activists.
A Swedish lawmaker of Iranian Kurdish descent, Amineh Kakabaveh, stated that it was a “black day” for Sweden. She argued that Stockholm was simply offering the Kurds as a sacrifice.
By joining NATO, Sweden will end more than two centuries of neutrality. Finland adopted neutrality after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the Soviet Union during World War II.
