ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Sweden’s foreign minister urged Turkey to withdraw from northeast Syria (Rojava) at a press conference in Ankara on Tuesday, prompting her Turkish counterpart to accuse European countries of having “double standards.” “I have been clear about our position regarding northeast Syria but the strong EU position remains the same. We continue to urge Turkey to withdraw,” Ann Linde said during the presser. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded to her comment with criticism for the visiting minister’s word choice. “In diplomacy, it is incorrect and arrogant to use the word ‘urge’. Therefore it is not a correct approach, but a wrong word,” said the Turkish minister. The Swedish diplomat hit back, describing the back-and-forth with her Turkish counterpart as “frank.” “I am your guest. I would not take a debate here but I guess all the journalists understand we had a very frank and open discussion, and I hope everybody in Turkey will have the possibility to express their views as frank as you are doing, minister.” Turkey has been criticized domestically and internationally for silencing dissidents, particularly Kurdish politicians and journalists. A recent EU report on Turkey said that the dismissal of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) mayors who won in last year's local elections has "damaged" the democracy of Turkey. Turkey's foreign ministry slammed the EU report, claiming it reflects the union’s “biased, unconstructive and double-standard-based stance.” Cavusoglu responded to his guest’s remark on Tuesday, saying, “everyone can express their views freely in Turkey. We do not have double standards when it comes to free speech.” He criticized the EU, noting it does not prohibit the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the grounds of free speech, but bans the Islamic State (ISIS) group. Ankara regards the PKK - a Kurdish armed group which has fought for more rights for the ethnic minority in Turkey - a terrorist organization and so do some EU countries. Turkey has carried out three military operations against Kurdish fighters in Syria since 2016. Syrian Kurds commemorated the first anniversary of the latest one, Operation Peace Spring, on Friday.
