PKK terrorist group members hung banners at several locations in the Swedish city of Gothenburg Tuesday in a new incident that could draw Ankara's ire.
Two of the banners were raised in front of the city hall while others were placed at strategic locations in the city center. Local authorities let the terrorist group's banners stay up for two days before they were removed.
The group that hung the banners said they were protesting "against the Swedish government's proposal to introduce a new offense in the Terrorist Crimes Act making participation in a terrorist organization a criminal offense."
Michael Sahlin, a former Swedish ambassador to Türkiye, told a local radio station that this incident affects relations between Sweden and Türkiye.
"It is another drawback for Sweden's NATO application, another incident which confirms the fact that Sweden takes the PKK problem lightly," he said.
"It is a disadvantage for Sweden's application for membership to NATO, and there is, as it were, further confirmation that people in Türkiye think that we take the problem with the PKK's presence and activities in Sweden lightly," Sahlin added.
Martin Ostberg, planning manager for security and contingencies at the city management office in Gothenburg, said in an interview with local radio station SR that "we take the unauthorized use of our flagpoles seriously and removed the flags as soon as possible. The incident has been reported to the police."
"If this becomes a recurring problem, we will have to review additional security measures," he added.
Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the Aftonbladet newspaper on Tuesday that their NATO membership depended on Türkiye and that he was hopeful for the process following the coming into force of a terrorism law on June 1.
In a historic turnaround, Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military non-alliance and applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving way for their eventual membership in the alliance.
But recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have led Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to take the steps necessary for NATO membership.
Ankara ratified Finland's membership last month, enabling it to become a full member of the defense alliance this week.
Ankara has previously said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against terrorists. Türkiye has frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO enlargement, but rather criticizes Stockholm for not taking action against elements that are posing a security threat to Ankara.
The burning of Islam's holy book outside Türkiye’s Embassy in Stockholm in January sparked anger in the Muslim world, leading to weeks of protests, calls for a boycott of Swedish goods and holding up Sweden's NATO membership bid.
"It is clear that those who caused such a disgrace in front of our country's embassy can no longer expect any benevolence from us regarding their application for NATO membership," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in January.
Stockholm police then refused to grant permission for two subsequent similar actions planned for February, citing security concerns.
But earlier this month the Stockholm Administrative Court overturned the decision, saying the cited security risk concerns were not enough to limit the "right to demonstrate."