Türkiye, Sweden, Finland to meet under joint mechanism: FM Çavuşoğlu

With Sweden and Finland are set to convene on Aug. 26 for the first meeting of the joint mechanism committed under the trilateral memorandum, the Turkish foreign minister said on Aug. 11. 
Speaking on the 13th Ambassadors Conference in Ankara, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Sweden and Finland are yet to deliver their commitments arising from the trilateral memorandum signed at the NATO summit in Madrid in June and they haven't taken any solid steps on Türkiye's requests on extradition of terrorists yet.
He described the remarks by Swedish and Finnish authorities on their promises as "well intentioned," and reiterated Türkiye's desire to see concrete steps from the two countries.

Meanwhile, Sweden's government said it would hand over a Turkish citizen convicted of credit card fraud to Ankara, the first known extradition since Türkiye said to freeze Stockholm's bid to join NATO.

The man facing extradition was identified in Swedish court documents as Okan Kale, and was convicted in Türkiye of credit card fraud in 2013 and 2016.

He sought asylum in Sweden in 2011 but his request was denied. He was granted refugee status in Italy in 2014.

Kale's name features on a list published in Turkish media of people that Ankara wants extradited from Sweden.

The justice ministry would however not comment on whether the man was on a list drawn up by Türkiye.

It noted that Ankara had sought his extradition in 2021 - long before the Stockholm's application to join the North Atlantic alliance in May.

"This is a regular, routine matter," justice ministry spokeswoman Angelica Vallgren told AFP. "The extradition request was received last year."

Kale has been held in Swedish custody since December 2021.

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