Türkiye has the right to defend itself against terrorism, Sweden’s foreign minister said Monday, News.az reports citing Anadolu.

Türkiye "is a state that has been subjected to terrorist attacks, and all states have the right to defend themselves," Tobias Billstrom told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper in Paris, where he was attending a donor conference for Moldova to help it deal with the impact of the Ukraine war and soaring food and energy prices.

Early on Sunday, Turkish forces launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, which has illegal hideouts in northern Iraq and northern Syria, where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.

"It is important to avoid civilian casualties and civilian targets," Billstrom noted.