Turkish FM Adds Pressure on Sweden To Stop Quran Burnings
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday that “We are in the middle of the most serious security policy situation since World War II.”
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday that “We are in the middle of the most serious security policy situation since World War II.”
Following a Quran burning in January of this year, a Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan who has been burning copies of the Islamic holy book for years, often sparking riots.
Closed-door negotiations between NATO and Ankara have irritated MEPs who rebuffed the likelihood of Turkish EU membership anytime soon in a report from the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee this week.
Erdoğan’s AKP relies on the support of the nationalist MHP for parliamentary majority, but the party is not happy with the president’s agreement with Stockholm, looking to vote against the ratification.
The Turkish Parliament will not come back from recess until the start of the autumn legislative session. In the meantime, Erdoğan noted, Sweden has some homework to do, having left conservatives out of the loop.
Erdoğan’s decision represents yet another snub to Russian President Vladimir Putin and comes only a few days after he released Ukrainian prisoners to President Zelensky, breaking a prisoner-exchange agreement between Turkey, Ukraine, and Moscow.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Turkey will “consult with the Swedes as well as NATO leaders” regarding efforts to break the impasse. In light of Sweden’s apparent tolerance of recent anti-Islamic and pro-Kurdish demonstrations, diplomatic relations with Ankara however remain precarious.
After months of court battles, anti-Islam protestors have burned yet another copy of the Quran in Stockholm, adding yet more tensions to Sweden’s bid to seek NATO approval from Turkey, whose Foreign Minister condemned the burning.
Swedish prosecutors investigating the son of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over corruption allegations could further inflame tensions between the countries as Sweden looks to enter the NATO alliance.
Turkish President Erdoğan called the new Swedish anti-terrorism law, that came into force on June 1st, “meaningless” as long as the country allows pro-PKK demonstrations.
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