Finland, Sweden fully support Türkiye’s fight against terrorism

Finland and Sweden reiterate their solidarity and cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against all forms of terrorism at the Permanent Joint Mechanism Meeting held in Helsinki

Representatives from Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden convened for the sixth meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism Thursday. This mechanism was established in a Trilateral Memorandum signed by the three nations ahead of the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid.

This is the first mechanism meeting following Finland and Sweden’s acceptance into NATO.

Ambassador Akif Cagatay Kilic, the president’s chief foreign policy and security advisor, led the Turkish delegation of the Permanent Joint Mechanism. Other members included Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Burak Akcapar, Deputy Minister of Justice Hursit Yildirim, and representatives from relevant ministries across foreign affairs, justice, internal affairs, national defense and intelligence.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara and Prime Ministry National Security Advisor Henrik Landerholm led the Finnish delegation. The Swedish delegation also included representatives from justice, security and intelligence institutions.

The discussions in Helsinki focused on a comprehensive review of the Trilateral Memorandum’s commitments. This included assessing specific actions already taken by Finland and Sweden, as well as outlining future steps.

Both delegations acknowledged that the Permanent Joint Mechanism has fostered a deeper understanding of Türkiye’s concerns, particularly regarding counterterrorism. They emphasized their unwavering commitment to tackling all forms of terrorism as outlined in the Memorandum. This includes providing unwavering support against threats to Türkiye, specifically from the PKK. Additionally, Finland and Sweden reiterated their pledge to withhold any assistance from groups designated as terrorist organizations by Türkiye, including PKK/YPG and FETO.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to strengthen cooperation at all levels between relevant institutions in both Finland and Sweden with their Turkish counterparts on the issues addressed within the Permanent Joint Mechanism. All parties acknowledged the mechanism’s importance as an ongoing forum for dialogue and agreed to hold the next meeting in Stockholm.

Additionally, discussions took place during the meeting and bilateral meetings regarding the European security architecture, the NATO Washington Summit, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and the recent despicable attacks on the Holy Quran in Europe.

Source: Newsroom