Sweden's top diplomat slams local party for promoting PKK terror group

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s foreign minister slammed one of the country’s socialist political parties Tuesday for promoting the PKK terrorist organization during Almedalen Week, an annual political festival being held on the island of Gotland.

“This is completely unacceptable. The PKK was branded a terrorist organization as early as 1984 by Olof Palme’s government. And with good reason. The PKK has many innocent human lives on its conscience,” Ann Linde said on Twitter, tagging Justice Minister Morgan Johansson.

Linde called on the Left Party to immediately stop supporting the PKK terror group.

Johansson also warned the Left Party by posting the same statement on Twitter.

The statement came after Left Party lawmakers Daniel Riazat, Momodou Malcolm Jallow and Lorena Delgado Varas posed with flags of the PKK, YPG and YPJ during the Almedalen political forum.

The forum is an event that sees each of the leaders of Sweden's main political parties give speeches and present policy suggestions.

Sweden and Finland shunned neutrality and applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance in May, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

Ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid last week, Türkiye, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum after four-way talks that included the alliance.

The agreement allows the two Nordic countries to become NATO members but on the condition that they take steps over Türkiye's terrorism concerns and lift an arms embargo on Ankara.

Following the trilateral deal, NATO formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the 30-member military alliance.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz