Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde said “it is false to talk about our relationship with the PKK”, stressing that “Sweden was the first country after Turkey to declare the PKK a terrorist organization and our position has not changed.”

The Turkish authorities oppose the entry of Sweden and Finland into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing the support of the two countries for terrorist organizations that it considers a threat to its security.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Supporting terrorist organizations like the PKK and YPG and then asking us to support Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership is a contradiction to say the least.” He stated that “his country asked Sweden to extradite 30 terrorists, but she refused to hand them over to Ankara.”

It is noteworthy that the ambassadors of Sweden and Finland to the European Union in Brussels submitted to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg an application from their countries to join the alliance.