Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Sweden that Ankara would not support Sweden joining NATO unless it takes drastic measures to counteract the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey.
The minister's statement came in the wake of Thursday's PKK supporters' rally in Stockholm, where insulting remarks were made against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a doll resembling him was hung by the legs on a pole in front of the city hall.
"The PKK is laying a landmine for Sweden's membership in NATO. If the Swedish government does not respond properly to such actions, we will not give the answer that Sweden is waiting for in the matter of its NATO membership. That's how open and clear it is. Sweden must make its choice," Cavusoglu said on TRT.
The foreign minister recalled that Ankara expects Sweden to honor its memorandum on combating terrorist organizations, a condition for Turkey's approval of its NATO membership bid. The document was signed last June on the sidelines of the Madrid NATO summit.
Turkish authorities condemned the action of PKK supporters in Stockholm. Sweden's ambassador to Ankara was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry on Thursday and protested. Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop canceled a January 17 visit to Ankara by the head of the Swedish parliament, during which it was planned to discuss the northern country's membership in NATO.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS