Türkiye is set to host Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard in the capital, Ankara, on Wednesday to hold the first meeting addressing a security pact the sides agreed to ensure Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid.
The meeting carries "special importance" in terms of improving cooperation on terrorism, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.
Türkiye 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 terrorist groups like the PKK and over an arms embargo that Stockholm later lifted.
As part of the approval, Ankara demanded that Stockholm amend counterterrorism laws and crack down on members of the PKK, which has led a bloody terror campaign against the Turkish state since 1984 and is labeled a terrorist group by the United States and European Union, as well as the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which orchestrated a defeated coup in July 2016 that claimed at least 255 lives.
The "Security Compact" formation was agreed upon 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 counterterrorism.
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.
Türkiye's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and Stenergard will also discuss bilateral ties during the meetings, the source added.
