Sweden does not finance terrorists, the country’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, claimed on Wednesday, responding to Turkey’s allegations.
Ankara has been accusing Stockholm of arming and supporting Kurdish militias that are considered terrorists by Turkey. This stance is one of the key reasons behind Turkey’s refusal to give the green light to Sweden’s NATO membership bid.
On Wednesday, a Swedish delegation, along with diplomats from the other candidate country, Finland, started negotiations with the Turkish government in Ankara in order to address its concerns and thus persuade the NATO member to support their applications.
Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference with European Council President Charles Michel in Stockholm, the Swedish prime minister said that her country is discussing Turkey’s list of conditions and is trying “to sort out some ambiguities” that could be seen in earlier media reports and in various official statements. However, certain things are quite easy to clarify right away, Andersson said.
“It is easy for us to clarify that, of course, we do not send money or weapons to terrorist organizations,” she emphasized.