Ankara wastes no time and just yesterday demanded the extradition of “33 terrorists”, under the recently signed memorandum with Sweden and Finland to unblock their entry into NATO. The first country is asked to hand over "11 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and 10 of FETÖ", acronyms that designate the brotherhood of Fethullah Gülen, convicted of coup plotting.
In Finland, the Minister of Justice, Bekir Bozdag, claims six Kurdish "terrorists" and six brothers. Sweden has clarified that extraditions are decided by a judge and that no one with a Swedish passport will be handed over.
Turkey surprised its NATO partners in May by blocking the accession of the two Nordic states and surprised them again the night before last by unblocking it on the verge of the opening of the summit.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has presented the agreement signed by the three foreign ministers as a success, which includes all their concerns and includes a follow-up mechanism.
As the PKK is already classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, Turkey highlights the inclusion of its Syrian political-military branch, PYD-YPG, in the same category. Ankara hopes that the example will spread, but the US, France or the United Kingdom continue to support the group, which they present as an ally against the Islamic State.
Another compensation obtained by Turkey was revealed yesterday, when the US Undersecretary of Defense, Celeste Wallander, stated that "the modernization of the Turkish air force strengthens NATO's security." A coded admission that the unlocking of the acquisition of 40 F-16s already paid for by Ankara would be in the offing.
Erdogan, in short, has bought a year of tranquility in Madrid before the elections and, perhaps, for what comes after, given the uncertainty of the result and some vindictive spirits.
