Bozdag: Türkiye cannot support Sweden if it ignores terrorists
Sweden cannot expect Türkiye’s support for NATO membership if it ignores provocations of terrorists, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.
Earlier, a rally was held in Stockholm by supporters of the PKK, which is banned in Turkey, where a number of offensive remarks and gestures were made against the incumbent Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Earlier, media reported that the Swedish ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and protested against the rally. Turkish parliament speaker Mustafa Shentop cancelled a previously planned visit to Ankara of his Swedish counterpart. The Turkish president’s lawyer has filed a complaint to Ankara’s chief public prosecutor’s office in connection with the action, and criminal proceedings have been initiated. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the PKK action risked complicating Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
“He said Sweden needed to fulfill its obligations within the framework of its agreements with Ankara if it wished to gain Turkish support for the NATO bid, Anadolu news agency quoted him as saying.
The Turkish minister recalled the provisions of the trilateral Memorandum signed by Turkey, Finland and Sweden on the margins of the last NATO summit in Madrid. “This document imposes certain obligations on the parties, so Ankara rightly expects Stockholm to fulfill these promises,” the minister stressed.
He explained that the two Nordic countries have pledged security support to Ankara, including counter-terrorism, as well as the lifting of restrictions in the defence sector. In addition, Türkiye has handed over a list of individuals involved in terrorism to Sweden and Finland, but they have yet to be extradited to Ankara.
“A country that ignores terrorist provocations cannot expect support from Ankara on its path to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Approaches must be reconsidered,” the Turkish Justice Minister said.
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