Turkey demands 33 people from Finland and Sweden in exchange for softness in entering NATO

Turkey will demand Finland and Sweden extradite 33 people belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party and Fethullah Gulen (FETO), which it considers terrorists, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced Wednesday.

This request comes a day after the signing of a memorandum between the three countries paving the way for Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"Within the framework of the new agreement, we will ask Finland to hand over six members of the PKK and six FETO members, and Sweden to hand over ten FETO elements and 11 members of the PKK," added the minister, whose statements were reported by local media.

Ankara and its Western allies classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.

“FETO” is the name of the movement founded by the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers responsible for the failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Turkey, a member of the alliance since 1952, has blocked the accession of the two countries, accusing Stockholm and Helsinki of harboring PKK activists.

But after long meetings on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey gave the green light for the entry of these two countries into the alliance.

The Turkish president considered that he had obtained "full cooperation" in the fight against the PKK.

This agreement will allow NATO countries to show their unity during Wednesday's summit.

However, the formal entry of the two countries, which must be ratified by the parliaments of the 30 member states of the alliance, is a long process that takes months.

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