The foreign policy of the AKP/MHP regime is simple. Neo-Ottoman imperialism and pan-Turkist aspirations are intended to pacify the regime internally and make Turkey a great power. As a foreign policy tool, the regime uses aggressive war policies, accompanied by attempts to blackmail the international community. Whether it is the water issue, refugees, grain from Ukraine, everything is used to push through its own interests and to dress up the domestic political and economic crisis with national elation.

With the Ukraine war, Turkey gained new options. Finland's and Sweden's application to join NATO became a means of extorting further concessions from the countries concerned through Turkey's veto. Most recently, Mahmut Tat, an asylum-seeking political activist, was extradited from Sweden at Turkey's request and immediately imprisoned in Istanbul. A document published by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Wednesday, dated 25 November, shows once again how far the collaboration goes.

DOZENS OF PEOPLE ALREADY FORCED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY

In the document entitled "Implementation of the Trilateral Agreement between Turkey, Sweden and Finland", Sweden emphasises how committed it is to the "fight against terrorism", meaning the Kurdish struggle for freedom. In particular, the right of residence is apparently used as a weapon. It says that Swedish authorities are now paying more attention to "PKK-related security problems" in the procedure for issuing residence and work permits. A dozen people have already been prevented from entering the country or "forced to leave".

RESTRICTIONS ON ERDOĞAN'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Furthermore, the Swedish government is pandering with its new anti-terror law, for which the constitution was unanimously amended by right-wing conservatives and social democrats. These laws are seen as a "genuflection to Erdoğan". In the future, the Swedish government will be able to introduce new laws restricting freedom of assembly when it comes to associations involved in or supporting terrorism.

In addition, under the heading of foreign espionage, the disclosure of secret information will be criminalised and included in the Penal Code. The amendments also mean restrictions on the right to provide information that could harm Swedish relations with other states or organisations such as the UN or NATO. This is a particular attack on the freedom of the press, as it makes investigative research virtually impossible.

INTENSIVE COOPERATION WITH MIT

According to the document, the Swedish intelligence service Säpo has "intensified" its cooperation with the Turkish intelligence service MIT. The document mentions a meeting between Säpo and MIT in September. There, they discussed "long-term" cooperation.

TURKEY WANTS MORE

For the AKP/MHP regime, Sweden's measures are apparently still not enough. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, for example, stated at the end of November, following the EU foreign ministers' meeting at which the document was apparently presented, that Turkey continues to attach great importance to meeting its demands. In concrete terms, this means that Turkey wants to push through far more of its interests in order to abandon its blockade stance.