Turkey is still not satisfied with the Swedish government’s attempts to prevent and limit the desecration of the Quran, and will only open the door for Swedish NATO membership if the Scandinavian country takes concrete steps to prevent the practice, according to Reuters.
The news outlet reports that in talks with Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström on Sunday, July 30, his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan called the Quran burnings “vile actions” that were unacceptable under the pretense of “freedom of expression.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen reportedly got a similar phone call from Fidan earlier on Sunday, as a direct response to two Quran burnings that took place in the Danish capital in the past week.
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said on Instagram that “We are in the middle of the most serious security policy situation since World War II, and here at home, we know that both states, state-like actors and individuals can take advantage of the situation.” Kristersson said his government is in close dialogue with the Danish government regarding “the burnings that are happening of holy religious books.”
Kristersson continued,
Sweden and Denmark are two of the world’s most well-functioning democracies. We stand for freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration. We have a strong tradition of respecting other people and different beliefs. Freedom of religion is an obvious cornerstone of our societies.
Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated its crisis staff and international operational staff to be prepared for dealing with the international protests against the Quran burnings. Over the past week, 15 countries have made official statements specifically condemning Denmark.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told national broadcaster DR that “the government will find a legal tool that makes it possible to prevent Koran burnings in front of foreign embassies in Denmark.”
The Turkish parliament is set to vote on Swedish NATO membership in October and as of right now, it is unclear whether there is a majority to approve the accession. Members of MHP, the nationalist party President Erdoğan’s AKP government relies on for parliamentary majority, have expressed concerns both about the Quran burnings and the Swedish government’s unwillingness to extradite what Turkey deems Kurdish terrorists.
Also on Sunday, in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, a protest by resident Muslims gathered hundreds of demonstrators, many of them women dressed in traditional Muslim garb, carrying copies of the Quran and chanting “stop burning the Quran.”
