High-level officials from both nations are expected to attend a gathering in Ankara on Tuesday that aims to strengthen joint counterterrorism operations.
High-level representatives from both nations are expected to attend the Türkiye-Sweden Security Mechanism meeting in the Turkish capital on Tuesday.
According to diplomatic sources on Monday, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya are anticipated to participate.
The advancement of cooperation between the two countries’ counterterrorism initiatives depends on this meeting.
Fidan is anticipated to call on Sweden to take additional action against the PKK/YPG terrorist organization and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which was responsible for a failed coup in 2016, including halting their propaganda efforts and cutting off their financial support.
Removing constraints on the defense industry
Additionally, he will highlight Ankara’s concerns about the emergence of Islamophobia, racism, and far-right movements in Europe and urge decisive action to counter these tendencies.
The easing of trade restrictions pertaining to the defense industry will also be discussed in order to promote long-term, goal-oriented collaboration.
Due to technical difficulties with the Swedish delegation’s trip to Ankara, the meeting that was originally planned for last September was postponed.
Trilateral Memorandum of 2022
A trilateral pact detailing the Scandinavian nations’ commitments to fortify counterterrorism laws, restrain the terrorist PKK’s activities, and remove defense export restrictions on Turkey was signed by Turkey, Sweden, and Finland during NATO’s June 2022 summit in Madrid.
Since then, Sweden has taken a number of actions, such as amending its constitution to limit interaction with terrorist organizations and enacting a new counterterrorism law in July.
In June 2023, new laws that made membership in terrorist organizations illegal were introduced.
In addition, Stockholm has frozen accounts connected to PKK fundraising networks and designated a liaison prosecutor to oversee investigations pertaining to Turkey.
Legal action has been taken against a few terrorist PKK members, and a 2024 security assessment mentions the terror group’s operations in the European nation.
Framework for security mechanisms
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, and then-NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attended a NATO summit in 2023 where they agreed on a new Türkiye-Sweden Security Mechanism.
With an emphasis on Sweden’s efforts to prevent terrorism in all of its forms, this mechanism seeks to guarantee the full fulfillment of the pledges stated in the 2022 trilateral memorandum.
