Sweden and Finland need to advance cooperation with Türkiye and tighten their anti-terror laws to combat terrorist groups, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, local media reported.
"Sweden and Finland should bolster cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against the PKK terrorist organization and its offshoots," Stoltenberg said as he called on the Nordic countries to team up with NATO members against terrorism.
"Türkiye is concerned because it’s the only NATO country suffering the most terrorist attacks and their concerns should be understood," Stoltenberg explained.
The NATO chief’s remarks come at a particularly fraught time in Türkiye following the Nov. 14 terrorist attack in Istanbul’s busy Istiklal Street that killed at least six and left 81 injured, as well as the three rocket attacks by the PKK’s Syrian branch YPG into Türkiye’s southeastern border where at least three civilians were killed and 14 others were injured, which included eight security personnel.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched Operation Claw-Sword against the terrorist group late on Saturday intending to eliminate their hideouts in northern Iraq and Syria. Its Defense Ministry confirmed Turkish warplanes have made direct hits on at least 89 targets since.
In regards to the Turkish counteroffensive, Stoltenberg noted that NATO members have varying opinions on terrorist groups and emphasized that Türkiye has the right to self-defense against such organizations.
Türkiye currently stands at odds with Sweden and Finland over their application to join NATO. The two countries abandoned their long-held policy of nonalignment and applied to join the military alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine. But Ankara has blocked their applications, accusing Stockholm in particular of being a haven for terrorists.
Sweden especially has been taking steps to get in on Türkiye’s good graces since the sides struck a deal in June that requires them to not provide support to the PKK and its offshoots, or the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
Most recently, the Swedish parliament passed a constitutional amendment that will make it possible to introduce new laws to "limit freedom of association when it comes to associations that engage in or support terrorism" and enable "wider criminalization of participation in a terrorist organization or a ban against a terrorist organization."
The change will enter into force on Jan. 1.