The sixth meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism established under the terms of the Trilateral Memorandum agreed by Türkiye, Finland and Sweden on June 28, 2022, prior to the NATO Madrid Summit, was held in Helsinki, Finland.
The first meeting, held after Finland and Sweden joined NATO, was chaired by Ambassador Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Chief Advisor to the President on Foreign Policy and Security, and attended by Ambassador Burak Akçapar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hurşit Yıldırım, Deputy Minister of Justice, and representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Interior, National Defence and the National Intelligence Organisation.
Jukka Salovaara, Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, led the Finnish delegation, while Henrik Landerholm, National Security Adviser at the Prime Minister's Office, led the Swedish delegation. Representatives from security and intelligence agencies from the two countries were also present at the meeting.
During the discussions, the current state of affairs was assessed, and future steps to be taken were thoroughly examined in order to fulfil the commitments set in the Trilateral Memorandum through specific actions.
The delegations of Finland and Sweden stated that the process served to have a better understanding of Türkiye's sensitivities and expectations, especially in the fight against terrorism.
The delegations of Finland and Sweden reiterated their full solidarity and cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism as defined in the Trilateral Memorandum and pledged their full support against threats against Türkiye, particularly from the PKK terrorist organisation.
Concurrently, the delegations reaffirmed their pledge not to provide support to the PYD/YPG and FETO terrorist organisations.
Next meeting to be held in Stockholm
An agreement was reached during the meeting to reinforce cooperation between pertinent institutions at all levels on the issues deliberated under the mechanism.
All parties underscored the mechanism's relevance and continuity and agreed to convene the subsequent meeting in Stockholm.
They also exchanged views on the European security architecture, the NATO Washington Summit, the Russia-Ukraine War, Gaza and the recent heinous attacks on the Holy Qur'an in Europe throughout the meeting, as well as bilateral talks.