Turkiye, Sweden to hold first security talks since NATO entry, Turkish source says

ANKARA: Turkiye and Sweden will hold their first meeting on Wednesday addressing a security pact the sides agreed to ensure Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

The meeting will take place during a visit to Ankara by Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, and it carried “special importance” in terms of improving cooperation on terrorism, the source said.

Turkiye approved Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance in January after a more than year-long delay over concerns about Sweden’s stance on groups and individuals it deems terrorists, and over an arms embargo that Stockholm later lifted.

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As part of the approval, Ankara demanded that Stockholm amend anti-terrorism laws and crack down on members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - also labelled a terrorist group by the United States and European Union - as well as a group it accuses of orchestrating a 2016 failed putsch.

The formation of the “Security Compact” was agreed by NATO’s then-chief Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish and Swedish leaders at an alliance summit in 2023. The parties had also agreed that Stockholm would present a “roadmap” on counter-terrorism.

Sweden joined NATO in March. “Cooperation in the field of security, especially the fight against terrorism, will be discussed within the framework of the road map,” the source said, adding that the talks aimed to pave the way for additional steps on the PKK and its Syrian offshoots, as well others.

Turkiye’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and Stenergard will also discuss bilateral ties during the meetings, the source added.