Sweden cannot accept some of the conditions posed by Turkey to give the green light to Stockholm’s entry into NATO. The Swedish premier said so Ulf Kristersson on Sunday, during a conference attended by NATO secretary Jens Stoltenberg. “Turkey has said that we have complied with some of the conditions, but they also say they want things we can’t and don’t want to do. We are convinced that a decision will come from Ankara, but we don’t know when,” continued Kristersson .
NATO summit in Madrid: from Ukraine to enlargement to include Sweden and Finland, the topics on the agenda
by Enrico Franceschini
Be the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu they have repeatedly declared that they await “concrete steps” from the Scandinavian countries, with clear reference to the extraditions envisaged in the memorandum of understanding that the three countries signed in Madrid last June. Turkey’s ‘no was prompted by Sweden and Finland’s support and asylum for elements of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK and coup plotters accused of participating in the 2016 attempted coup.
There are a total of 33 presumed terrorists whose surrender Ankara is asking for, 21 residing in Sweden and 12 in Finland and this has been the obstacle that has so far proved insurmountable.
The case of extraditions
Erdogan had in fact also called for the end of the embargo on the sale of arms that the two Scandinavian countries had imposed on Turkey in 2019, a condition on which he was immediately satisfied. Failure to extradite Bulent Kenesformer editor-in-chief of the newspaper and of the online site considered the megaphone of the Gulenists accused of the attempted coup of 2016, one of the non-negotiable names, had however complicated the situation in Sweden and left Finland hanging.
Sweden, who is the new premier Ulf Kristersson: Tintin fan, three little girls adopted in China, will have to get the EU to accept the support of the far right
by Daniele Castellani Perelli
Just from Finland, after Kenes’ denied extradition, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto declared that his country “is in no hurry” and intends “to wait for the green light for Stockholm”. Green light that appears much further away today. Erdogan does not seem willing to give in on extraditions, a point on which 4 of the 5 parties that sit in the Turkish Parliament (two in the opposition) are rowing in the same direction (only the pro-Kurdish HDP disagree); while the Swedish government is grappling with opposition protests and demonstrations by the Kurdish diaspora in the country. At the moment, in fact, all NATO members have ratified the entry documents of Sweden and Finland except Turkey and Hungary.