Representatives of the large Kurdish diaspora in Sweden fear that they will become a pawn in negotiations about the desire to join NATO if the West makes concessions to enlist Turkey's support, Reuters reported.

Sweden, along with Finland, applied for NATO membership, but faced opposition from Turkey, which accused it of supporting the PKK. Any bid to join NATO requires the support of each of its 30 members. Turkey has been a NATO ally for over 70 years.

Sweden's Kurdish diaspora of 100,000 and Stockholm's support for Kurdish rights have long been causing friction with Ankara.

Sweden has long outlawed the PKK and says it only provides humanitarian aid to Syria and refugees in the region, mostly through international organizations.

Simultaneously with NATO talks, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch a new invasion of northern Syria to recapture cities held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces backed by Washington.

All this worries some Kurds, who fear they may pay a price to appease Turkey and secure Sweden's place in NATO.