Türkiye expects Finland, Sweden to keep terrorist groups from operating on their soil: Official

By Aynur Ekiz

ZAGREB, Croatia (AA) - Türkiye expects Finland and Sweden to prevent the YPG/PYD and FETO terrorist groups from operating freely on their soil, the country’s parliament speaker said Monday.

In the Croatian capital Zagreb, where he came to attend the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform, Mustafa Sentop met with his Swedish counterpart Andreas Norlen and Finnish Deputy Parliament Speaker Antti Rinne.

Praising Finland’s firm commitment to the trilateral memorandum of understanding it signed at NATO's June summit in Madrid which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoot, or the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind a defeated 2016 coup in Türkiye, Sentop also expressed appreciation for the new Swedish government’s pledge that it would pursue a similar policy.

Underscoring that Türkiye has fought the terrorist PKK for four decades, he said his country had not received sufficient support in this regard from its NATO allies.

In principle, Türkiye supports the NATO membership bids of both Finland and Sweden, but the Turkish parliament will ultimately make the decision after reviewing whether the two countries have fulfilled their obligations in line with the memorandum, he said.

"Under the present situation, it is not possible to persuade the Turkish public that clauses of the memorandum are being implemented," he warned.

Sentop also held a separate meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk.

He reiterated Ankara's strong support for Ukraine's territorial integrity amid its war with Russia.

Sentop added that Türkiye hopes for an immediate end to the war through peaceful means which would guarantee the rights and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the two countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

The three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding at NATO's June summit in Madrid which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD or FETO.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union and the US and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG/PYD, which also has a presence in Europe, is openly sanctioned by several governments.

The Nordic countries also agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests for terrorist suspects.

Türkiye's parliament must ratify the country's approval for Finland and Sweden's membership for them to join NATO.