Finland, Sweden express full support for Türkiye's fight against terrorism

ANKARA

Finland and Sweden expressed on Thursday full support for Türkiye's fight against terrorism, as delegations from the three countries met in Helsinki for the sixth meeting of a permanent joint mechanism established within the framework of a 2022 trilateral memorandum.

On June 28, 2022, the three countries signed a trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit in Madrid to address Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership.

According to a statement from Türkiye's Communications Directorate, it was the first meeting after Finland and Sweden's acceptance into the NATO military alliance and was chaired by Akif Cagatay Kilic, chief adviser to the president on foreign policy and security.

The Finnish delegation was led by Permanent State Secretary of Foreign Ministry Jukka Salovaara, while the Swedish delegation was chaired by Henrik Landerholm, national security adviser to the prime minister.

During the discussions, the current state of affairs was assessed, and future steps to be taken were thoroughly examined in order to fulfil the commitments set in the trilateral memorandum through specific actions, the communications office said.

The Finnish and Swedish delegations said the process has contributed to a better understanding of Türkiye's sensitivities and expectations, particularly in the fight against terrorism.

They reiterated their full solidarity and cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against "all forms and manifestations of terrorism" as defined in the trilateral memorandum, and pledged their full support against threats to Türkiye, particularly from the PKK terrorist organization.

The delegations reiterated their commitment not to provide support to terrorist organizations to PKK offshoots the PYD and YPG, and FETO, the terrorist group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.

Next meeting to be held in Stockholm

The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation at all levels between relevant institutions on issues discussed within the mechanism.

Emphasizing the importance and continuity of the mechanism, the next meeting was decided to be held in Stockholm.

Exchange of views also took place on the European security architecture, NATO's upcoming Washington Summit, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and attacks on the holy Quran in Europe.