Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Sweden had pledged to his country to extradite 73 terrorists, which Stockholm commented on.

In a press statement after the meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in Madrid, yesterday, Erdogan said that Turkey will closely follow up on the implementation of the issues recorded in the tripartite memorandum signed with Sweden and Finland, to take the necessary steps accordingly.

Erdogan stressed that, according to the tripartite memorandum of understanding, Sweden and Finland must fulfill their responsibilities, and the memorandum can only pass after approval by the Turkish parliament.

He added that Sweden and Finland should eliminate the organizations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its affiliates in Syria and the Fethullah Gulen "terrorist" group and complete the relevant legal regulations.

And he added, "What we witnessed during the process of accepting Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO membership shows Turkey's red lines with regard to the terrorism file, and Sweden promised us to hand over 73 terrorists."

He stressed that Turkey has been fighting what he described as separatist terrorism for nearly 40 years and that thousands of its sons have fallen victim to terrorism, so it can no longer afford to procrastinate.

Turkey said it "got what it wanted" in its recent agreement with Finland and Sweden (Reuters)

The Turkish president stressed the need for NATO to show its determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and that this should not remain a dead letter.

Regarding Turkey's purchase of F-16 fighters from the United States, Erdogan said, "President Biden's sincere efforts will enjoy great support and I will send a delegation to the United States without delay."

Swedish comment

For his part, the Swedish Minister of Justice, Morgen Johansson, stressed that the decisions regarding the extradition of wanted persons to other countries are issued by an "independent judiciary", in response to a statement by President Erdogan in which he announced that Stockholm "pledged" to hand over 73 terrorists to Ankara as part of an agreement on Sweden's accession to NATO. .

The minister said - in a statement - that "in Sweden, Swedish law is applied by independent courts."

"Non-Swedish people can be extradited to other countries at their request, but only when this is in accordance with Swedish law and the European Convention on Deportations," he added, recalling that no Swedish citizen could be extradited.

According to Stockholm, the agreement signed - last Tuesday evening - to lift Turkey's objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO "clearly states that we will respect the European agreement" with regard to deportations.

But less than 48 hours after the agreement reached by the three countries on the sidelines of a NATO summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened again on Thursday to block Sweden and Finland from joining the alliance.

The Swedish Minister of Justice, without referring to Erdogan's statement directly, stated that the final word on deportations belongs to the Supreme Court, "which has the right to object to deportations," not the government.

And the agreement, which was signed last Tuesday evening, and which bear many of its terms of interpretation, was welcomed by Sweden because it opens the way for Stockholm's accession to NATO.

However, the agreement raises - on the other hand - great concerns, especially among the Kurds, about the reality of the concessions made by Stockholm.