Swedish PM Refuses to Say if Stockholm Will Deport Kurds Wanted in Turkey as Part of NATO Deal

Finland and Sweden earlier reached an agreement with Turkey to review Ankara's extradition requests for members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. The agreement, which made waves in both Nordic countries, was a requirement for Turkey's support of their accession to NATO.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has refused to flatly deny or confirm Turkey’s claim that Stockholm had promised to deport individuals related to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its affiliates sought by Ankara as part of Sweden's rejuvenated efforts to join NATO.

When questioned by concerned journalists about the fate of Kurdish and Turkish refugees in Sweden during a political event on the island of Gotland, Andersson wouldn't say whether such a commitment had been given to Ankara in order to lift its crucial opposition to Sweden’s future membership.

“I’ve been a minister for eight years and I never talked about what is said in the negotiation room,” Andersson said. “That actually puts me in a bit of a difficult situation right now,” she added.

At the same time, Andersson assured that any deportation decision would comply with the norms of Swedish and international law. She also assured that all decisions would be made by independent courts. Lastly, according to Andersson, the authorities will not extradite Swedish citizens to Turkey.

“Unless you are involved in terrorist activities, there is no need for concern,” she said, adding that the Swedish definition of terrorism applies.

Subsequently, Andersson said that Sweden is still waiting for an expanded list of people wanted by Turkey on terrorism charges.

“Last time I heard, we hadn't received such a list yet,” Andersson told Swedish Radio.

While addressing the contradictory claims made by Swedish and Turkish authorities, Andersson ventured that the parties may interpret the agreement differently, adding that this is “not entirely unusual.”

In an agreement signed by Stockholm and Helsinki at a NATO summit in Madrid on Tuesday, the two Nordic countries agreed to examine Turkish extradition requests “expeditiously and thoroughly”. While no promises were given, both Finland and Sweden have since underscored that the process is in the hands of the authorities and independent courts.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday claimed at the end of the NATO summit that Sweden had made a “promise” to extradite “73 terrorists” and threatened to block NATO membership if the commitments are not met.

Earlier, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Finland would never extradite its citizens if they face the threat of torture or capital punishment as a result.

Ankara previously resisted Sweden and Finland joining NATO, demanding they stop supporting the PKK, which it views as a terrorist organization, and cut all ties with their affiliates in, among others, Syria. The Madrid agreement has since been hailed as removing the largest stumbling block on their way to NATO after decades of non-alignment.