Sweden and Finland have refused to extradite about 130 terrorists to Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
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“We told Sweden and Finland: in order for your membership in NATO to be approved, it is necessary to extradite us about 130 terrorists. Unfortunately, this was not done,” Erdogan said, speaking in Mugla, his speech was broadcast on TV.
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He noted that Sweden, in particular, refused to extradite the journalist Bulent Kenesh, who was sentenced to imprisonment in Turkey.
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Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday that progress on Sweden’s admission to NATO is impossible until Stockholm puts an end to the terrorists operating in the country.
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The Swedish Ambassador to Ankara was summoned on Thursday to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where he was protested in connection with the propaganda in Stockholm of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) against President Tayyip Erdogan.
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On May 18, 2022, Finland and Sweden, against the background of the events in Ukraine, submitted applications to the NATO Secretary General to join the alliance. To date, Sweden’s and Finland’s applications to NATO have not been ratified by only two countries out of 30 – Hungary and Turkey.
