Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has accused Sweden of violating commitments in the NATO accession process amid the Koran burning incident. The corresponding statement was published on January 21 on the website of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the permission for a propaganda demonstration by groups associated with the terrorist organization PKK in the center of Stockholm, immediately after the dastardly attack on the Holy Quran was allowed today. This is a clear violation of the obligation of the tripartite memorandum that Sweden signed to prevent the propaganda of terrorist organizations,” the statement said.
As noted in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, a statement of commitment to obligations and their implementation are two different things. The ministry stressed that it expects Sweden to take “concrete and effective steps beyond rhetoric, especially in the fight against terrorism, in accordance with its obligations under the tripartite memorandum.”
Earlier in the day, Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Hard Deal party, burned a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. It was reported that the man received permission to carry out this action.
After that, the press secretary of the President of Turkey, Ibrahim Kalin, said that the burning of the Koran is a clear crime of hatred, and condemned it. He urged not to encourage such crimes and Islamophobia.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry also condemned the action of burning the Koran. The head of the department, Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah, called on the international community to fulfill its obligations to stop such actions, reject all forms of hatred and extremism, and bring those responsible to justice.
In turn, the head of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billstrom, said that Islamophobic provocations are terrible, but, despite this, freedom of expression has been established in the country. According to him, the action that took place does not mean at all that the Swedish authorities support Islamophobia.
Prior to that, on January 12, a rally by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) banned in Turkey was held in Stockholm, at which a number of insulting statements and gestures were made against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Including Erdogan’s mannequin was hung upside down at the action.
At the same time, the Stockholm city prosecutor’s office on January 16 refused to investigate the action, not finding discrediting information spread in the actions of the protesters. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized this decision.
Against this background, Ankara canceled the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson, which was to take place on January 27.
Erdogan warned on January 16 that Ankara’s relations with Stockholm could become strained if Sweden did not take action against the PKK. The Turkish President added that the PKK is holding its actions not only in Sweden, but also in Finland, Germany, France and England.
Relations between Turkey and Sweden are complicated by the entry of the kingdom together with Finland into NATO. In June 2022, Ankara presented ten conditions to lift their veto on their membership. One of the points was a proposal to support Turkey in its fight against terrorist organizations recognized by Ankara, including the PKK.
