With only a few days left until Ulf Kristersson is to meet Turkish President Erdogan in Ankara, the government chooses to accommodate Turkey’s demands and distance itself from the Kurdish militia in Syria, the YPG, and their political branch, the PYD party.
The message is welcomed by Turkey and the ambassador in Stockholm writes in an email to Svenska dagbladet that “YPG/PYD is organically, hierarchically and financially linked to the PKK. This inconvenient truth must be acknowledged by all our partners and allies. We are happy that this is becoming increasingly clear to the Swedish authorities”.
But this arouses strong reactions within the opposition. Former Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson (S) is skeptical of the government’s handling of the NATO process. In an email to TV4 Nyheterna, Johansson writes:
“The government’s handling of the NATO process is both worrying and excruciating. First this week’s announcement about opening up nuclear weapons on Swedish soil, and now the distancing from the Kurds in Syria. Moreover, these controversial steps are taken without any contact with the opposition. Nothing has been anchored in the Riksdag. The government is acting completely arbitrarily in a way that violates Swedish foreign policy tradition. The YPG/PYD has played an important role in the fight against the terrorist sect IS, and has had strong support from the West, including the United States. The Kurds in Syria deserve a lot of credit for that. That the Swedish government now wants to distance itself from them is a betrayal.”
Nor does former left-wing leader Jonas Sjöstedt mince words. On Twitter, he writes: “What a pity, Sweden’s government acts as Erdogan’s lapdog when he oppresses and attacks Kurds. The YPG and YPJ made decisive efforts to defeat IS, Turkey facilitated IS so they could fight the Kurds.”
The PYD’s representative in Sweden calls the announcement a disappointment and believes that today’s statement is due to Sweden wanting to appease Turkey in the NATO process
In the player above: PYD’s representative in Sweden: They want to make Turkey happy