Status: 06/29/2022 2:54 p.m
The agreement in the dispute with Turkey over NATO admission has caused criticism in Sweden. An influential member of parliament of Kurdish origin threatened a vote of no confidence in Foreign Minister Linde.
After Sweden and Finland reached an agreement with Turkey on the NATO accession of the two Scandinavian countries, there was criticism from the Swedish parliament. An influential MP of Kurdish origin spoke of a “black day in Swedish political history”.
The MP, Amineh Kakabaveh, threatened Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde with a vote of no confidence. Because the majority in the parliament in Stockholm is very tight, the independent party currently has an important role in Swedish politics.
Green Chair: Disturbing changes
One of the chairmen of the Swedish Greens, Märta Stenevi, called on Foreign Minister Linde to ask the foreign affairs committee questions about the agreement with Turkey as soon as possible. Stenevi wrote on Twitter that the changes, for example in relation to arms exports and deportations, are very worrying.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership after Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. The decision to join must be taken unanimously by the NATO countries – Turkey was the only country to oppose it.
Memorandum signed with Turkey
The country had accused the two northern European countries of providing shelter for fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey. Turkey and its western allies classify the PKK as a “terrorist organization” – so do Sweden and Finland.
Yesterday evening Turkey gave up its blockade and signed a memorandum in which Finland and Sweden pledged their full support to Turkey against threats to its national security.
Agreement considered a success
The two Scandinavian countries also pledged not to support the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG and the movement of Islamic leader Fethullah Gülen. The states assured that they would strengthen their cooperation and, among other things, want to make deportations easier. The agreement was seen as a success in all three countries.
“We will not change the democratic rights that people have,” Foreign Minister Linde said on Swedish radio. “But on the other hand, there will be a significant tightening when it comes to criminalizing different parts of terrorist activities.” Sweden should not be a haven for terrorists.
Reports on extradition demands
The AFP news agency reports that Turkey has demanded that 33 “terrorist suspects” from Sweden and Finland be extradited. “Under the new agreement, we will ask Finland for the extradition of six PKK and six FETÖ members, and Sweden for the extradition of 10 FETÖ members and 11 PKK members,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Turkish television.
The Turkish government calls the Gülen movement Feto. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gülen for the 2016 coup attempt.
Bundestag wants to ratify admission quickly
Meanwhile, NATO has officially started the process of admitting Finland and Sweden. At the Madrid summit, all the heads of state and government of the 30 member states agreed. After completion of the admission process, the accession protocols still have to be ratified by all NATO allies.
The German federal government assured that it wanted to implement the accession as soon as possible. Everything is being done to complete the process as quickly as possible, said a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office.
The FDP politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff spoke out in favor of ratifying the admission before the summer recess of the Bundestag, which begins next week.