Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom said on the radio today, Saturday, that the new government in the country will distance itself from the Kurdish “People’s Protection Units” factions while trying to win Ankara’s approval to join NATO. This indicates that Turkey has been successful in pressuring Sweden to cut off all relationships with the Kurdish factions.
The Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units and its political wing, the “Democratic Union Party,” are seen by Turkey as an extension of the PKK, which launched a revolt against Turkey in 1980 and is regarded as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.
Sweden continues to back the People’s Protection Units in their fight against the Islamic State, joining the United States and a number of other NATO allies in doing so. This infuriated Ankara, which is now attempting to shut off all foreign support for the Kurdish factions.
While Turkish Justice Minister Bakr Bouzdag urged Sweden and Finland to turn over people who are regarded as terrorists in June, Turkey vowed to obstruct Sweden’s desire to join the alliance if it continued to support these groups.
The leaders of these two nations and representatives from NATO met in Madrid several months ago and signed an agreement to raise Ankara’s opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO while the two nations agreed to stop supporting Kurdish militants. Turkey also demanded the necessity of lifting the two nations’ ban on arms exports.
The two nations also agreed to refrain from aiding the Fethullah Gulen network, which Ankara claims it was able to sway in the summer of 2016 and which it labels as a terrorist organisation. Gulen is a Turkish cleric who resides in the United States.
“There is a very close link between the People’s Protection Units and the PKK . . . which benefits from the good relationship between us and Turkey,” said on Saturday, the Swedish Foreign Minister, adding, “The primary goal is Sweden’s membership in NATO.
The action was taken just a few days before Swedish Prime Minister Olf Christbson was scheduled to visit to Ankara to lobby Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to allow Sweden to join the military alliance.
As a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO earlier this year. The two nations recognise the threat that Moscow poses to their national security and are looking to NATO for protection.
28 of the NATO’s 30 members approved the request. The North countries expressed optimism that Hungary would give up its concerns a few days ago.
Turkey is putting pressure on Sweden to sever ties with the Kurdish groups.
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