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Ankara cancels Swedish Defense Minister's visit to Turkey due to Stockholm protests

Akar recalled that Turkey's only request is for Sweden and Finland to fulfil the obligations stipulated by the memorandum signed in Madrid

© Anatoly Strunin/TASS

ANKARA, January 21. /TASS/. Turkish officials have canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson’s visit to the republic slated for January 27 due to anti-Turkish protests in Stockholm, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

"At this point, the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson to Turkey on January 27 has become completely meaningless. This is why we cancelled the visit," Akar said.

Akar recalled that Turkey's only request is for Sweden and Finland to fulfil the obligations stipulated by the memorandum signed in Madrid.

Last week, a protest rally was held in the capital of Sweden in support of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. During the protest, a doll resembling Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan was hung by the feet near the Stockholm City Hall. Turkish authorities condemned the event. The Swedish Ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry twice. On January 15, Erdogan said that in order for the Turkish parliament to ratify the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO, these countries need to extradite about 130 terrorists to Turkey.

On May 18, 2022, Helsinki and Stockholm submitted their applications to join the alliance but the process was blocked by Turkey, which demanded that the two countries extradite any people suspected of terrorism or participating in the 2016 coup to Ankara, and lift bans on weapons supplies to Turkey. Talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were held in Madrid on June 28. As a result, a memorandum was signed making it possible for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. The Turkish leader stated that Sweden had pledged to extradite over 70 people involved in terrorist activities.

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