PM: Sweden to live up to terms of NATO deal with Turkiye

Sweden will follow the conditions of a Memorandum of Understanding agreed with Ankara to overcome Turkiye’s objections to Swedish membership in NATO, Reuters reports.

According to the report, Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, said on Tuesday her country agreed with Turkiye and the decision to extradite a man to Turkiye wanted for fraud was made last week “according to Swedish and international law”.

“We will continue to work that way,” she added.

Last week, Swedish authorities announced that Sweden would hand over a Turkish citizen, Okan Kale, to Ankara, the first known extradition since Turkiye threatened to freeze Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.

Kale has been held in Swedish custody since December 2021, as he was convicted in Turkiye of credit card fraud in 2013 and 2016.

Last May, Sweden and Finland applied formally to join NATO, but Ankara voiced reservations about both bids due to their position on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK, which Turkey, the US and EU have designated as a terrorist organisation.

 READ: PM says talks with Turkey over NATO bid ‘will take time’