Swedish foreign minister condemns PKK terror group

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said today that his country “condemns all terror organisations, including the PKK.”

Speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna at a news conference in Paris, Billstrom said Sweden has fulfilled the last part of its commitment under a June 2022 trilateral memorandum signed in Madrid to address Turkiye’s security concerns on terrorism with a new anti-terror law, which came into effect on 1 June.

He noted Stockholm’s goal is the same as Ankara’s: To fight terrorism.

He reiterated that cooperation between Swedish and Turkish police has improved significantly.

READ: Turkish, Dutch, US defense chiefs hold talks on sidelines of key NATO meeting

“Sweden’s stance on the PKK is very clear. That’s why we wanted to fulfill everything written and decided in the memorandum to become a NATO member,” he said.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Turkiye approved Finland’s membership, it is waiting for Sweden to fulfill commitments under the deal. It is hoped that Turkiye will approve Sweden’s bid ahead of a NATO summit next month.

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that if Turkiye is expected to respond to Stockholm’s expectations of accession to NATO, Sweden must also do its part to stop PKK activities on its soil ahead of the summit.

READ: Sweden NATO membership must be accepted before July summit