According to the Turkish foreign minister, Sweden has not made any significant action to allay Turkey’s security worries.
At a press conference with his Swedish colleague Tobias Billstrom in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu stated, “There is no concrete development regarding the extradition of terrorist-related criminals and the freezing of terrorist assets.”
The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the organization responsible for the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Cavusoglu claimed, continues to find Sweden to be a “focus of attraction.”
“If someone who is not on our list is extradited, we will accept that. This week, the Swedish Supreme Court denied the plea to extradite a FETO member to our nation, which is a very unfavorable event “added the minister.
He noted that the PKK and FETO terrorist organizations pose a threat not just to Turkey but to other nations as well.
After decades of military non-alignment, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May. This move was motivated by Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
However, Turkey, a more than 70-year NATO member, expressed disapproval, charging the two nations with tolerating and even aiding terrorist organizations.
In order to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, Turkey and the two Nordic nations inked a memorandum this past June during a NATO meeting, clearing the road for their eventual participation in the alliance.