The recent activities of the PKK in Stockholm reflect the laxity of Swedish laws and officials, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday after the terrorist organization projected its so-called flag and leader on buildings in the country.
“The PKK is a terrorist organization. It harms not only Turkey, but also the national interests of Sweden. It does what it can to hinder Sweden from becoming a NATO member,” Çavuşoğlu said during a press conference in Zagreb.
Çavuşoğlu said that Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and deputy foreign minister Sedat Önal will travel to Brussels on Sunday to discuss the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland.
Russia’s war on Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to formally apply to join NATO on May 18.
But Turkey, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups such as the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, as well as for weapons embargoes against the country.
While the two Nordic countries said talks to resolve the dispute would continue, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said recently that Ankara had not received any responses to its demands, including stopping support for terrorist groups, lifting arms embargoes on Ankara and extraditing terrorism suspects it seeks.
Any bid to join NATO requires unanimous backing from each of its 30 members.
