'Absurd': Türkiye slams Sweden's refusal to probe threats against Erdogan

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has lashed out at Sweden's refusal to prosecute supporters of the PKK terror group for last week's provocative demonstrations and threats against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm.

"The (Swedish) prosecutor office's decision to not probe the incident is extremely absurd, we all know what the rule of law means," Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Türkiye's capital, Ankara.

His remarks came after PKK supporters gathered in front of the historical City Hall in the Swedish capital last week and hung upside down an effigy of the Turkish leader.

"This is a racist and hateful act that includes a hate crime, this is against universal values and is a crime according to international law," Cavusoglu said about the incident.

Cavusoglu also reminded Sweden of the memorandum it signed at a NATO summit last June to address Türkiye's security concerns.

"When you look at Sweden's testimony in the memorandum, do they have a promise to fight them (terrorists)? Yes, they have. Secondly, we are talking about freedom of expression. Is this attack, this provocation a racist attack? Yes," he said.

He said Sweden will "either fall victim to the mines laid by terrorists, or we will all walk forward by considering the safety of us and fulfilling the commitments in the memorandum."

"The decision here is on Sweden," he said.

READ MORE: PKK provocation against Türkiye in Sweden 'racist' and 'hate crime'

Ankara's security concerns

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May 2022, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara's security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

Türkiye has praised some steps taken by Sweden and Finland but says the countries need to do more to show their firm stance against terrorism and terror groups that threaten Türkiye.

In its more than 35-year armed campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Meanwhile, FETO orchestrated a failed coup in Türkiye in 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 were wounded.

FETO was also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

READ MORE: Cavusoglu calls Turkish student denied internship in Sweden over NATO bid