Every Kurd can feel safe in Sweden, says Swedish FM

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Tobias Billström, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, on Monday told Kurdistan24 correspondent Barzan Hassan that “every Kurd can, of course, feel safe, but only those who deal with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have a reason to feel unsafe and that is right and proper.”

"I would be very clear and say that for Sweden this has never been about the Kurdish issue. This has been about the PKK issue and the PKK is a terrorist organization. It has been declared a terrorist organization internationally,” Billström added.

Also, he stated that Sweden, along with other NATO partners, had committed to curbing the "terrorist threat" that the PKK represents to Turkey at the NATO Summit in Madrid.  

Sweden joined NATO on March 7, due to increasing security concerns in the Baltic region, particularly in light of Russia's aggressive actions. The country recognized the need for stronger collective defense and closer military cooperation with NATO allies to ensure its own security and stability. Additionally, joining NATO allows Sweden to have a stronger voice in shaping regional security policies and to benefit from the alliance's collective defense capabilities.