ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2022) Sweden and Finland are yet to satisfy Turkey's extradition requests, with the process of their accession to NATO halted until they fulfill their obligations, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Thursday.
Finland and Sweden handed over applications to join the alliance in mid-May to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the light of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Their membership bids were blocked by Turkey, but in late June, Ankara signed a memorandum in Madrid with Sweden and Finland in the field of security. Turkey, in turn, has withdrawn its objections to the accession of the two European countries to the alliance.
"Turkey's positive decision does not mean that the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO is completed. This is the will to initiate the process. If the promises made to Turkey in the agreement are kept, Turkey will keep its word. What is our word? If you do what you promised, we will say yes to membership. Otherwise, the process will be slowed down. So far, the Swedish and Finnish governments have not granted extradition requests in line with Turkey's expectations... The person extradited by them has nothing to do with terrorist crimes," Bozdag was quoted as saying by the Milliyet newspaper.
Last month, Bozdag said that Ankara had sent a written demand to Sweden and Finland on the extradition of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the organization of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO), deemed terrorist by Turkey. Sweden reportedly prepared a list of ten PKK members for extradition to Turkey after signing the memorandum.
Earlier in the month, media reports suggested that the Swedish government had decided to extradite a Turkish national for the first time since Ankara demanded a number of people be extradited in return for allowing Stockholm to formally apply to join NATO.
