UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE
By Atila Altuntas and Can Efesoy
STOCKHOLM / ANKARA (AA) – A meeting on counterterrorism, planned to be held at the ministerial level between Türkiye and Sweden, has been postponed due to a malfunction in the plane carrying the Swedish delegation to the Turkish capital, Sweden’s Foreign Ministry sources said on Wednesday.
The Swedish state plane, carrying Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard and Justice Minister Gunnar Strummer, returned to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport due to a technical malfunction while en route to Türkiye, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
In light of this development, the "Türkiye-Sweden Security Mechanism" meeting has been postponed to a later date, they said.
"Our joint efforts to strengthen cooperation in the field of security, particularly in the fight against terrorism, will continue," the sources added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Press Spokesperson Richard Wahlstrom said that a plane carrying Stenergard and Strummer, en route to Ankara for a key meeting, returned to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport due to a technical malfunction.
The decision to turn back was described as a precautionary measure, and the malfunction did not pose any immediate danger to passengers or crew, according to Wahlstrom.
"It was a safety precaution taken due to the technical malfunction and did not pose an immediate danger to passengers or crew," Wahlstrom told Anadolu.
The ministers were set to attend the first Security Mechanism Meeting between Türkiye and Sweden in Ankara, where high-level discussions on cooperation against terrorism and organized crime were to take place.
The talks were to be chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, alongside Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, with Stenergard and Strummer representing Sweden.
“Efforts have already begun to set a new date for the meeting as soon as possible,” Wahlstrom added, noting the importance of the discussions.
This meeting holds special significance, as it marks the first of its kind, focusing on strengthening institutional collaboration between the two nations in the field of counterterrorism.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Celik