Sweden ‘100% behind’ NATO accession agreement with Türkiye: PM

STOCKHOLM (AA) – Sweden fully supports the NATO accession agreement reached with Türkiye, the country’s prime minister has said.

“We are 100% behind the agreement,” Magdalena Andersson told reporters.

Sweden and Finland had formally applied to join the alliance last month- a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating, and even supporting what Turkiye considers ‘terrorist’ groups- specifically, the PKK.

After talks between Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders of the two Nordic countries at the Madrid summit, a trilateral memorandum was signed in order to begin the process for NATO to officially invite Finland and Sweden to join its ranks.

The two countries have pledged to address Türkiye’s ‘terrorism’ concerns and lift an arms embargo on Ankara.

It also states that Finland and Sweden will work closely with Türkiye on issues related to exchange of information, extradition and, in general, the fight against terrorism.

On the issue of extradition, Andersson said Türkiye has made extradition requests in the past “and we have dealt with them.”

Sometimes people have been deported, but most of the time they have not, she said.

At a press conference in Madrid earlier on Thursday, Erdogan hailed the memorandum as a “diplomatic victory” for Türkiye.

He said Sweden has promised to extradite 73 PKK members to Türkiye. He added that Ankara will closely monitor the implementation of the points agreed in the memorandum “and take steps accordingly.”