“If you don’t show respect for the Turkish Republic or the religious beliefs of Muslims, then you cannot get any support from us on the NATO issue,” the Turkish president said, alluding to the burning of the Koran in Stockholm. .
According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sweden cannot count on Turkey’s support to join NATO after the Koran was burned in Stockholm. “If you don’t show any respect to the Turkish Republic or the religious beliefs of Muslims, you cannot get any support from us on the NATO issue,” Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday.
NATO member Turkey has blocked Sweden and Finland from joining the defense alliance for months. Turkey, in particular, accuses Sweden of supporting “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK, and is demanding the extradition of several people Ankara considers terrorists. All 30 NATO members have to ratify membership applications, 28 have already done so – just Turkey and Hungary are missing.
Erdogan’s Doll and Quran Burning
Protest actions in Sweden have recently led to new problems with Turkey. Among other things, activists in central Stockholm hung a doll resembling Erdogan by its feet, prompting an angry reaction from Ankara. On Saturday, an Islamophobic politician and provocateur from Denmark threw oil on the fire again. He burned a Koran at a police-sanctioned demonstration near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday. The action was a “disgrace”, Erdogan said.
The Swedish government distanced itself from this action, as well as from the incident with the Erdogan dummy, but referred to the freedom of expression that prevails in Sweden. “Freedom of speech is a fundamental part of democracy,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Twitter in response to the Koran burning. “But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. The burning of holy books for many is a deeply disrespectful act.”
This intensified the already strained relations between the two countries. Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. For that to happen, all 30 member states would have to agree.
(APA/dpa/Portal)