Turkey on Tuesday warned Sweden that refusal to extradite dissident journalist Bülent Keneş could hinder Stockholm’s efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after a Swedish court blocked Keneş’s deportation.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called the move a “very negative development,” indicating that Turkey would not approve the Nordic country’s bid to join NATO.
“We do not want to hear nice words from Sweden and Finland. We would like to see concrete steps,” he said in a press conference.
#Turkey's Foreign Minister expresses disappointment in #Sweden Supreme Court's decision that rejected the handover of exiled Turkish journalist Bulent Kenes, hopes that @SwedishPM Ulf Kristersson and his center-right gov't would overrule the court's ruling. #FatChance pic.twitter.com/hakWS4r3WE
— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) December 20, 2022
Noting that he expects Sweden to respect the trilateral agreement signed with Finland in June, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey had made its demands very clear. “Ultimately, everyone should fulfil their obligations according to this document.”
He pointed out that Sweden and Finland agreed to extradite members of “terrorist organisations” like the PKK and YPG Kurdish groups and the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ), which Turkey blames for orchestrating the failed 2016 military coup to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On Monday, the Swedish Supreme Court blocked the extradition of Keneş to Turkey due to a “risk of persecution.” Turkey has demanded that Sweden deport Keneş in return for approving Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.
Sweden blocks the extradition of Bülent Keneş, a dissident journalist, back to Turkey
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 21, 2022
'He is being accused of trying to overthrow the Turkish government,' @MerveTahiroglu of @POMED says, calling it 'part of a witch hunt'@laura_i24 | #MiddleEastNow pic.twitter.com/UGdPiqYxSb
Keneş worked for the banned Zaman newspaper, which was critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and has been accused of playing a major role in the 2016 coup. Ankara also claims that Keneş supports FETÖ and its leader, Fetullah Gülen, who Turkey says was the mastermind behind the coup. Keneş fled to Sweden the same year and was granted asylum.
Turkey has demanded that Sweden extradite Keneş before its NATO bid is approved. In fact, Erdoğan demanded that Stockholm extradite Keneş as a precondition of Ankara’s approval.
The Swedish foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the country is bound by the Supreme Court decision. “Sweden’s government has to follow Swedish and international law when it comes to questions of extradition, which is also made clear in the trilateral agreement,” it said.
🚨 Turkey undermines & shakes confidence in @NATO alliance 🚨
— Jarrod Morris (@jarrodjmorris) December 17, 2022
1. Threatens military action against Greece
2. Holds up Sweden & Finland NATO bids to extract concessions
3. Enters into Russia energy agreement undermining sanctions
4. Attacks US/Coalition SDF partners in Syria https://t.co/oQkvSl0x6F
“We cannot speculate on what possible impact this will have on the NATO accession,” the ministry noted.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO, fearing a potential Russian offensive against them. In May, Ankara blocked Helsinki and Stockholm’s bids to join NATO, saying they supported terrorists by harbouring Kurdish militants belonging to the PKK and the YPG.
However, following intense negotiations, Sweden and Finland signed an agreement with Turkey in June wherein they vowed to stop supporting Kurdish militant groups and FETÖ and agreed to extradite extremists to Turkey.
Ankara insists that Helsinki and Stockholm have still not fulfilled their commitments, with Turkish officials claiming that “terrorist” activities are still continuing in the two countries.
Earlier this month, Çavuşoğlu said Finland and Sweden have not taken steps to fulfil their commitments as part of the June deal, saying Ankara expects more “concrete measure” from the two countries. Similarly, he said last month that as long as Turkey’s concerns are not respected, it will not accept Finland and Sweden’s NATO applications.