UPDATE - Sweden fully supports Türkiye against all threats to its national security: Foreign minister

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By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Sweden condemns all terror groups, including the PKK, said Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, adding his country "fully supports" Türkiye against all threats to its security.

Billstrom noted that Sweden’s new anti-terror law will facilitate cooperation with Türkiye and other NATO and EU countries.

"Sweden fully supports Türkiye against all threats to its national security and condemns all the terrorist organizations, including the PKK, which carry out attacks against it," he noted at a news conference in Gotland with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Billstrom said Sweden stands ready to be an "active and loyal ally," and to contribute to NATO’s security on day one.

Cleverly reiterated UK's support for Sweden's NATO accession and said the UK’s position has been clear that "Sweden must and shall join NATO."

Referring to Türkiye's security concerns and Sweden, the British foreign secretary said his country recognizes "huge steps" that Stockholm has taken to address the concerns of some of the existing allies within NATO.

"The UK very much is confident when we say that all NATO allies will be made safer by Sweden's joining of our alliance, just as we believe that Sweden will become safer as an ally within NATO," he said.

He also praised Sweden for its support for Ukraine against Russia's war against Kyiv.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022. Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara's security concerns.

Several NATO allies, including the US, hope Türkiye will approve Sweden's accession process ahead of a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, set for July 11-12.

Sweden passed an anti-terror law in November hoping Ankara would approve its bid to join NATO. The law, effective June 1, allows authorities to prosecute individuals who support terror groups.

- Wagner Group's actions

Meanwhile, in response to a question about how they evaluated the weekend's action by Wagner Group which was designated "an armed rebellion" by Russian authority, the two foreign ministers said it is an internal matter of Russia.

Saying everyone should be cautious on this issue, Billstrom noted they should rather be focused on supporting Ukraine.

Also mentioning that supporting Ukraine and its recovery from the war is what they are interested in, Cleverly said he does not think it is healthy or useful to speculate about what it might mean for the Russian leadership.

Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry on June 24 of attacking its fighters, declared "A March of Justice," and set off for Moscow, saying in a statement that he was going "to overthrow military chiefs."

The Federal Security Service designated the Wagner Group's actions as "an armed rebellion" and opened a criminal case against Prigozhin, while Russian President Vladimir Putin called the paramilitary private company's uprising an act of "treason."

Prigozhin and his fighters later decided to turn back "to avoid bloodshed" when they were 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Moscow.