Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, stated on Sunday during a phone call with Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, that Sweden must end the protests of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm for Ankara to greenlight Sweden's NATO membership. According to Reuters, the Turkish presidential office announced that Erdogan told Stoltenberg that Turkey has a constructive approach, but while PKK supporters are protesting in Sweden, changing terrorism laws in Sweden to meet Ankara's demands is 'meaningless.' The United States and Turkey consider the PKK a terrorist organization. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström stated on Wednesday, June 21, that the Turkish parliament should begin the process of approving Sweden's application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Billström said that Stockholm has fulfilled its commitments under the agreement with Turkey. Finland joined NATO last April, but Turkey has obstructed Sweden's membership citing 'security concerns.' Turkey has repeatedly stated that Sweden must prevent protests against the Ankara government; protests that, from Sweden's perspective, rely on the freedoms enshrined in the Swedish constitution. The U.S. Secretary of Defense has called for Turkey to agree to Sweden's NATO membership.
Erdogan: Sweden Must Stop Kurdish Protests
Turkish President Erdogan has demanded that Sweden stop protests by PKK supporters in order to approve Sweden's NATO membership. Swedish officials assert that they have met their commitments to Turkey, while the U.S. is urging Turkey to facilitate Sweden's accession. This situation highlights ongoing tensions between Turkey and Sweden regarding security and freedom of expression.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Turkish President Erdogan has demanded that Sweden stop protests by PKK supporters in Stockholm to approve Sweden's NATO membership. Sweden asserts it has met its commitments to Turkey, while the U.S. is urging Turkey to facilitate Sweden's accession.
- Erdogan communicated the demand during a call with NATO's Secretary General.
- Turkey has blocked Sweden's NATO membership over security concerns related to PKK activities.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey has blocked Sweden's accession due to concerns over Kurdish protests.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%