ISTANBUL, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Stockholm informed Ankara in a letter dated Oct. 6, and in a letter dated Oct. 6 seen by Reuters, Sweden addresses Turkey’s concerns over its application to join NATO. He said he had taken “concrete actions”. .
This two-page letter provides an example of 14 steps Sweden has taken to show it is “fully committed” to the memoranda of understanding it signed with Turkey and Finland in June. Transatlantic Security Alliance.
Sweden and Finland moved to join NATO in May in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but faced opposition from Turkey. group.
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Stockholm and Helsinki have denied harboring terrorists, but have pledged to work with Turkey to fully address security concerns and lift the arms embargo. But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on October 6 that Turkey’s demands had not yet been met.
In a letter to Turkey, Sweden said “concrete actions have been taken on all core elements of the trilateral agreement”.
Sweden’s security and counter-terrorism police, Sapo, is “intensifying its efforts against the PKK” and made a “high-level visit” to Turkey in September for a meeting with Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, the letter said. ing.
The Swedish foreign ministry and the communications department of Erdogan’s office each did not respond to requests for comment on the letter.
Swedish officials delivered a previously unreported letter to Erdogan’s office and the foreign ministry over the weekend, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The letter was intended to reassure Sweden’s Turkey amid ongoing bilateral talks and encourage final approval of the NATO membership bid, the sources added.
According to the letter, Swedish authorities “conducted a new analysis of threats to Swedish national security and the role of the PKK in organized crime, which is likely to lead to concrete results.”
Armed against the Turkish state in 1984, the PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. As part of negotiations on the June memorandum, Turkey sought the extradition of 73 people from Sweden and 12 from Finland, which has ties to other groups.
Stockholm extradited one Turkish citizen on August 31 at Ankara’s request after the August 11 decision, according to the letter, with a total of four extradited to Turkey since 2019.
The Swedish delegation, which visited Ankara in early October, discussed extradition, according to the letter.
“Sweden is committed to addressing pending extradition requests for terrorism suspects promptly and thoroughly,” it said, taking into account Turkish intelligence and complying with Swedish law and the European Extradition Treaty. , the letter said.
Turkey will continue talks with Sweden and Finland “to seek full implementation of the memorandum of understanding,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters. However, “measures need to be taken to combat terrorism, prevent and punish terrorism incitement, improve security, and cooperate with the judiciary,” the source added.
The parliaments of all 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states must approve the Swedish and Finnish bids. This marks a historic expansion of the alliance as the war in Ukraine continues.
In a sign that negotiations are progressing, Sweden’s foreign minister said on Friday that he hopes the final two rebels, Turkey and Hungary, will soon vote on the NATO application.
Erdoğan was quoted as saying that Sweden’s newly appointed prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, will meet on Friday to support the fight against terrorism and discuss NATO’s bids and deliveries.
The day before, Christerson said after meeting with the NATO secretary-general that the government would “redouble its efforts to implement a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Finland and Turkey.”
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Reported by Jonathan Spicer. Additional reporting by Simon Johnson, Stockholm. Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky and Diane Craft
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