The new Swedish government wants to extract an endorsement from the Turkish regime for its aspired NATO accession by making concessions on anti-Kurdish policies. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a radio interview on Saturday about the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party (PYD) and the People's Defence Units (YPG) active in Rojava (northern Syria) that their links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were "too close to be good for relations between us and Turkey". His government's main goal, he said, was Sweden's NATO membership. Billström thus signalled his willingness to add a new dimension to the criminalisation policy against the Kurdish people that has been in place in the Nordic country for decades.

Both Sweden and Finland are seeking to join NATO in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This requires ratification by all 30 member states of the defence alliance. While 28 members have already agreed to join, Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve.

Turkish regime leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has refused to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO, citing both countries' alleged support for Kurdish organisations that Ankara considers "terrorist". Then, at the end of June, the three countries signed a memorandum of understanding designed to overcome Turkish objections. Turkey's demands also included the lifting of the Swedish arms embargo and the extradition of opposition members. However, a final agreement has not yet been reached.

Sweden saw a change of government in the autumn. The country is governed by a centre-right coalition. The new Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson of the conservative Moderate Party, has formed a minority coalition with Christian Democrats and Liberals, supported by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. Kristersson asked Erdoğan for a meeting regarding NATO accession at the end of October.