EXCLUSIVE In letter, Sweden lists 'concrete actions' on Turkey's concerns over NATO bid - Reuters

ISTANBUL, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Sweden has taken "concrete action" to code Turkey's concerns implicit its NATO rank bid, including stepping up counter-terrorism efforts against Kurdish militants, Stockholm told Ankara successful a missive dated Oct. 6 and seen by Reuters.

The two-page missive gives 14 examples of steps taken by Sweden to amusement it "is afloat committed to the implementation" of a memorandum it signed with Turkey and Finland successful June, which resulted successful NATO subordinate Turkey lifting its veto of their applications to the trans-Atlantic information alliance.

Sweden and Finland launched their bids to articulation NATO successful May successful effect to Russia's penetration of Ukraine, but ran into objections from Turkey, which accuses the 2 Nordic countries of harbouring what it says are militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and different groups.

Stockholm and Helsinki contradict harbouring terrorists but person pledged to cooperate with Ankara to afloat code its information concerns, and to assistance arms embargoes. Yet Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said arsenic precocious arsenic Oct. 6 that its demands had not yet been met.

In its missive to Turkey, Sweden said that "concrete enactment has been taken connected each halfway elements of the trilateral agreement".

Sweden's information and counter-terrorism police, Sapo, "has intensified its enactment against the PKK", and it made "a high-level visit" to Turkey successful September for meetings with Turkey's MIT quality agency, the missive said.

Sweden's overseas ministry and the communications limb of Erdogan's bureau each did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the letter.

Swedish officials delivered the letter, which was not antecedently reported, to Erdogan's bureau and the overseas ministry astatine the weekend, a root acquainted with the concern said, requesting anonymity owed to sensitivity implicit it.

The missive was meant to reassure Turkey of Sweden's efforts amid ongoing bilateral talks and to promote eventual support of the NATO rank bid, the root added.

According to the letter, Swedish authorities "carried retired caller analyses of PKK's relation successful threats to Sweden's nationalist information and successful organised transgression (and) this is apt to pb to factual results."

The PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish authorities successful 1984, is considered a violent radical by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. As portion of talks implicit the June memorandum, Turkey has sought the extradition of 73 radical from Sweden and a twelve others from Finland, wherever it is acrophobic with different groups.

The missive says Stockholm extradited 1 Turkish national connected Aug. 31 upon Ankara's request, aft an Aug. 11 decision, and that a full of 4 extraditions person been made to Turkey since 2019.

Extraditions were discussed by a Swedish delegation visiting Ankara successful aboriginal October, according to the letter.

"Sweden is committed to address...pending extradition requests of panic suspects expeditiously and thoroughly," taking into relationship Turkish quality and successful accordance with Swedish instrumentality and the European Convention connected Extradition, the missive said.

Turkey volition proceed consultations with Sweden and Finland "to prosecute afloat implementation of the memorandum," Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters. However steps "need to beryllium taken...(in) combatting terrorism, prevention and punishment of incitement to terrorism, betterment of information and judicial cooperation," the sources added.

The parliaments of each 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) subordinate states' indispensable o.k. Sweden and Finland's bids, which would people a historical enlargement of the confederation arsenic the warfare successful Ukraine continues.

In a motion that talks were progressing, Sweden's overseas curate said connected Friday helium expects the past 2 holdouts, Turkey and Hungary, to ballot soon connected its NATO applications.

Erdogan was quoted by Turkish broadcasters arsenic saying connected Friday that Sweden's recently appointed Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson backs the combat against coercion and that they would conscionable to sermon the NATO bid and extraditions.

A time earlier Kristersson said aft meeting with NATO's caput wide that his authorities "will redouble efforts to instrumentality the trilateral memorandum with Finland and Turkey".

Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Additional reporting by Simon Johnson successful Stockholm; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Diane Craft

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