Supporters of the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, once again held demonstrations in Sweden’s capital on Sunday despite a deal with Türkiye in which the Nordic country was to curb terrorism within its borders.
The terrorist sympathizers asked the Scandinavian country to end talks with Türkiye on its NATO membership.
They gathered in Norra Bantorget Square in central Stockholm and demanded the release of jailed terrorist ringleader Abdullah Öcalan.
The demonstrators carried flags symbolizing the YPG/PKK and unfurled a poster of Öcalan.
This comes shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that Türkiye would continue opposing Sweden's NATO membership bid until its demands are met for a tougher Swedish stance against "terrorist organizations."
"As long as terrorist organizations demonstrate on Swedish streets and terrorists are present in their parliament, our approach to the issue will not be positive," Erdoğan told reporters at the Prague meeting of the European Political Community.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
A trilateral memorandum at the NATO Madrid summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the PKK's Syrian offshoots, the YPG and the PYD, or the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) – the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
Sweden and Finland agreed earlier this summer to assure Türkiye of their support against security risks.
Among Türkiye’s demands were the repatriation of some suspects and Sweden lifting its arms embargo.
Sweden said recently that it is ready to supply weapons to Türkiye as part of its bid to join NATO.
Finland and Sweden also agreed to address Türkiye's pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects.
Türkiye's Parliament must ratify membership bids by Finland and Sweden for them to join NATO.
