Turkey's Erdogan threatens Sweden, Finland to pull back from NATO accession deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a brutal warning to Finland and Sweden, just two days after dropping his objection to them joining the NATO alliance. Addressing media reporters at the close of the NATO summit in Madrid, Erdogan asserted that if any of the two nordic nations renege on their promises, then his administration would not ratify the deal. Ankara had earlier objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, accusing them of housing pro-Kurdistan terrorists, but later lifted its objection after they promised to extradite the suspects. 

Erdogan said that the 10-article agreement with the Nordic countries was a victory for Ankara and addressed all its "sensitivities”. He particularly highlighted the extradition of terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or a network of exiled clerics accused of the failed coup in Turkey. But the leader said that if the nordic pair fail to act upon the agreement, then the Turkish Parliament could back from approving the deal. 

“This business will not work if we don’t pass this in our parliament,” Erdoğan told reporters as reported by The Guardian. “First, Sweden and Finland must fulfil their duties and those are already in the text … But if they don’t fulfil these, then, of course, there is no way we would send it to our parliament,’ he added. 

'73 Kurdish terrorists will be extradited'

Earlier on Thursday, the Turkish President had said that in accordance with the joint memorandum he signed with Sweden and Finland that paves way for their entry into NATO, the latter have agreed that "73 Kurdish terrorists will be extradited." "We expect our allies to take into consideration our concerns not just at a rhetorical level but also through facts ", Erdogan on the sidelines of the 2-day NATO Summit at Madrid. Notably, no particular number of extraditions was set by the memorandum.

According to the text of the agreement, seen by The Guardian, Finland and Sweden are obliged to address Turkey’s “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided” by Turkey in accordance with the European convention on extradition.

(Image: AP)