Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom said today, Thursday - during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara - that supporting or encouraging terrorism will be considered a crime, and that supporting the activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Sweden will become from now on a "criminal act."
The Swedish official's statements come within the framework of his country and Finland's efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a step that Ankara opposes, claiming that the two countries are lenient with the PKK and its allies, such as the Kurdish People's Protection Units in Syria.
Billstrom also confirmed that the Ministries of Justice in Turkey and Sweden are exchanging information on individuals linked to terrorist organizations, that concrete measures have been taken regarding elements related to the agreements signed with Ankara, and that his country understands the "great" danger of the PKK to Turkey.
Billstrom pointed out that Stockholm looks at the commitments it made to join the alliance very seriously, as it has begun to take some steps in this context and will continue on the same path.
Security concerns
On the other hand, Cavusoglu said that Sweden and Finland should understand Ankara's security concerns about terrorist organizations as much as they are interested in joining the alliance.
He added that his country does not yet see a tangible development with regard to the extradition of criminals linked to terrorism and freezing the assets of terrorists, stressing that Sweden is still a "centre of attraction" for members of the "Fülen" terrorist organization, as he put it.
It is noteworthy that Turkey, Sweden and Finland had announced at the end of last November that they had made "progress" towards joining NATO, according to a joint statement issued in the Swedish capital.
In the same statement, the three countries welcomed the "intensification of cooperation ... and the progress made by Finland and Sweden within the framework of respecting the memorandum" signed on the sidelines of the Madrid Summit last June.
According to the Madrid Agreement, the three countries will enhance cooperation with each other to prevent the activities of "terrorist" organizations.
The statement stated that Sweden and Finland would begin investigations into fund-raising activities and recruitment of fighters for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara classifies as a terrorist organization.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christersson confirmed that his country would fulfill the promises it made to Turkey with regard to combating terrorism.
Turkish refusal
It is noteworthy that Finland and Sweden, in the aftermath of the Russian war on Ukraine, rushed to apply for NATO membership last May, and the NATO countries, with the exception of Hungary and Turkey, ratified the accession of the two countries.
And the Swedish parliament approved in mid-November an amendment to the constitution that allows Sweden to intensify its fight against terrorism, to enter into force next January.