Istanbul: In exchange for Stockholm's assistance in the fight against terrorism, Turkiye will take action to ratify Sweden's application to join NATO, according to President Tayyip Erdogan, who was quoted as saying this on Friday.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland submitted applications to join NATO last year, abandoning Cold War-era military non-alignment policies. All alliance members must consent to their applications.
Erdogan unexpectedly agreed after the alliance's summit in Lithuania this month to send Sweden's NATO application to Turkiye's parliament when the legislature reconvenes in October. Erdogan had delayed ratification of Sweden's NATO application for more than a year.
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Erdogan told reporters on a flight home from the Gulf states and northern Cyprus that the procedure for Sweden's NATO membership (ratification) would be determined by the working schedule of the Turkish parliament, according to a readout from his office.
It would be advantageous for Sweden if they took proactive measures to combat terrorist organizations and extradite terrorists.
With extradition being a major issue, Ankara accuses Stockholm of not doing enough to combat those Turkiye views as terrorists, primarily members of the PKK, an organization it believes was responsible for a failed coup attempt in 2016.
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The extradition of two Turkish citizens who Ankara claims are affiliated with a terrorist organization was recently rejected by Sweden's highest court.
We anticipate that promises will be kept, Erdogan said.
Erdogan was alluding to a pact Turkey, Sweden, and Finland made in Madrid last year to allay Ankara's security worries.
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Turkiye on Thursday expressed her outrage over the partial destruction of a Qur'an in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, but she refrained from making any public remarks about it while she was in the air.
