Turkey has put conditions on Sweden and Finland to work together to capture designated terrorists within NATO territory.
President Erdogan has established 10 conditions that Sweden and Finland must meet. He made the announcement on Wednesday when he spoke to Turkish media.
The two countries were asked to support Ankara in its fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the organization of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen (FETO) and its affiliates. Sweden and Finland, which are supporters of terrorist organizations, must establish the necessary legal norms and legal infrastructure needed to combat terrorism.
The Turkish government has proposed stopping attempts to open the PKK’s office in Stockholm and Helsinki, and banning FETÖ activities from within its borders.
This is a good move by Turkey. In addition to the freezing of assets and the shuttering of any organizations that are associated with terrorism, they’ve also offered to deport suspected members and share intelligence with Turkey. On top of this, they’ve also agreed to lift restrictions on defense industry partners.
In the wake of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO. Turkey’s rejection stressed that the countries did not support terrorism.
