Erdogan urges Sweden to end PKK protests for its NATO membership

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Sweden to prevent the demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm in exchange for a green light on its NATO bid.

In a phone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday, Erdogan said his country continues its "constructive attitude" toward Sweden's joining the alliance, according to a statement from his office.

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But Erdogan said the Nordic country's change on terror laws does not meet the expectation of Ankara as long as the PKK can demonstrate in the country "freely", reports Xinhua news agency.

Turkey has long been saying that Ankara will only admit Sweden's NATO bid in the upcoming Vilnius summit if the latter takes concrete steps to prevent anti-Türkiye "terror" activities in the country, the statement said.

The latest developments in Russia were also discussed during the phone call, it added.