Sweden prepares list of 10 PKK members to extradite to Turkey: Reports

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Sweden has made a list of 10 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members to extradite to Turkey following the signature of a memorandum in Madrid, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Sunday.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said earlier in the week that Ankara had sent a written request to Finland and Sweden to extradite members of the PKK and the organization of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO) that Turkey deems terrorist.

The Swedish Ministry of Justice told RIA Novosti that there are no official documents related to Ankara's demand to extradite the members of organizations deemed terrorist in this Republic. Between 2019 and 2022, the Swedish government approved three of Ankara's 16 extradition applications.

After the memorandum was signed, however, signs that the process was speeding up emerged. As per TRT Haber, the first of these signs appeared in the Swedish media. Reports say that the Swedish security service had prepared a list of 10 PKK members to be extradited.

It's worth mentioning that on May 18, Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to join NATO, abandoning their neutrality policies, implying a shift in the security situation in Europe. Turkey, however, blocked the process due to the two countries' continuous support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has, for long, conducted terrorist activities against Turkey. 

Later, on June 28, after months of liberations, Turkey, Finland, and Sweden sign a memorandum that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance.

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Tuesday that Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden's joint membership of NATO, on the first day of the alliance's summit in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Niinisto said the breakthrough came after the three countries signed a joint memorandum "to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, "I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO."  

However, in exchange for allowing the two Nordic nations to join NATO, what did Turkey get?

Following the signing of the memorandum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office considered that "Turkey got what it wanted" from Sweden and Finland before agreeing to back their drives to join the NATO alliance. It was a long list of demands, including an agreement to "cooperate fully with Turkey in its fight against the PKK" and other Kurdish militant groups, as well as an agreement to fully cooperate with Turkey on the deportation and extradition of suspects Turkey deems terrorist.

One request vs. a long list of conditions
While #Turkey had a long list of conditions from #Finland and #Sweden, all the two Nordic states wanted was to join #NATO.
Here's your guide to understanding on what basis the agreement was made. pic.twitter.com/Aw7Jtu7frp

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 28, 2022