ANKARA: Negotiations on Sweden’s bid to join NATO are still in the early stage, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Thursday, indicating that concrete steps have not yet been taken.
Sweden continues to be a center of attraction for members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), Çavuşoğlu underlined during a joint news conference with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström in the capital Ankara.
“There is no concrete development regarding the extradition of terrorist-related criminals and the freezing of terrorist assets,” Çavuşoğlu said. “We are not even halfway there, we are just at the beginning.” Billström, for his part, underlined that Türkiye and Sweden engage in intense cooperation against terrorism. “We are in a process of strengthening our fight against terrorism. Supporting or promoting terrorism will now be a crime. Supporting PKK activities on Swedish soil will become a criminal element.” The PKK and FETÖ terrorist groups are not only a threat to Türkiye but to other countries as well, he added.
Addressing Sweden, Çavuşoğlu said, “We do not want the impossible, we ask for your support in the fight against terrorism. Our relationship with you is at the strategic partnership level, we want you to understand the security concerns of the country you want to be an ally of.” –Agencies
