Turkey says Sweden has not yet extradited the “terrorism” suspects despite NATO deal

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden has not yet extradited the suspects that Turkey has requested over terrorism charges, despite signing an agreement with Ankara to drop its veto against Stockholm’s NATO membership bid, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Sweden alongside with Finland applied for joining NATO in May, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, one of the 30 members of the alliance, raised its objections over the two Nordic countries’ bids, citing their alleged support for terrorism. At the end of June, Ankara lifted its veto following a trilateral memorandum signed with Swedish and Finnish governments, which Stockholm and Helsinki confirmed to address Turkey’s pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects. The two NATO candidates also lifted arms embargoes against Turkey that was imposed in 2018 after Ankara’s military operation in northern Syria. 

Following the announcement of the deal, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Swedish daily Aftonbladet that they will not agree to any extraditions unless there is proof of terrorist activity. 

“We did not cave in to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” she said. 

However Ankara says that if Sweden and Finland fail to comply with the agreement signed in Madrid, Spain, on the sidelines of a NATO summit, it will not let them into the alliance.

"If these countries do not keep their word, we will take our steps accordingly,” Foreign Minister Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV on July 4. 

Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession protocols should be ratified by all 30 member countries’ parliaments.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of 73 people in Sweden, and many more in Finland.