Sweden has changed its line distancing itself from the Syrian Kurdish armed organisation YPG and its political wing, the PYD.
According to Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio on Saturday, November 5, the new Swedish government softened its support of the NATO allies in what appears to be an effort to appease Turkiye.
The Kurdish forces are viewed by Turkiye as a terrorist organisation and have said that unless Sweden changes its support for them, they will not agree to their membership of NATO.
The new Swedish government is believed to hold a more negative attitude towards supporting the YPG and the PYD than the previous government. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that the government considers it problematic to have organisations that could damage the relationship between Sweden and Turkiye.
That would suggest that Sweden and possibly Finland, will stop openly supporting organisations and individuals that Turkiye classify as terrorists in order to accept their NATO membership.
Whether they will give in to the demands that they extradite people Turkiye considers terrorists is another matter altogether.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Tuesday, which will give a clearer indication of whether Sweden has changed line and just how far it is prepared to go in “buying” NATO membership.
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