Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Wednesday that Turkey will not allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country allows protests that desecrate the holy book of Islam.
Turkey, which had already been delaying approval of Sweden and Finland’s membership in the Western military alliance, was angered by a series of separate demonstrations in Stockholm. In one case, a lone anti-Islam activist burned the Koran outside the Turkish embassy, while an effigy of Erdogan was hung at an unrelated protest. Even before that, Ankara had been pressuring Sweden and Finland to crack down on exiled members of Kurds and other groups it viewed as terrorists, and to allow arms sales to Turkey.
Turkey indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed the entry of the two Nordic countries into NATO.
“Sweden, don’t bother! As long as you allow my holy book, the Koran, to be burned and torn, and you do it together with your security forces, we will not say ‘yes’ to your NATO entry,” Erdogan said in a speech to his ruler. party legislators.
Swedish government officials have distanced themselves from the protests, including from a far-right anti-Islamic activist who burned copies of the Koran in Stockholm and Copenhagen, Denmark, while stressing that the demonstrations are protected by free speech.
On Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson denounced the activists who carried out the demonstrations as “useful idiots” for foreign powers who want to cause harm to the Scandinavian country seeking to join NATO.
“We have seen how foreign actors, even state actors, have used these demonstrations to inflame the situation in a way that is directly harmful to Swedish security,” Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm, without naming any countries.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members except Turkey and Hungary have ratified their membership, but unanimity is required.
In a television interview on Wednesday, Erdogan suggested that Sweden should avoid Quran-burning protests.
“Hate crimes against Muslims under the guise of free speech are unacceptable. We hope that the beliefs of all groups will be respected and sincere measures will be taken in the fight against Islamophobia,” he told state broadcaster TRT.
In Finland, which has not seen anti-Turkish or anti-Islamic demonstrations, violating religious peace is punishable by law, and desecrating a book considered sacred by a religious community would likely violate that law. As a result, the police did not allow a protest involving the burning of the Koran.
There is no similar legislation in other Nordic countries, Finnish public broadcaster YLE said.
YLE reported on Tuesday that a group of anti-NATO protesters had planned to burn the Quran in Helsinki last week, but changed their minds after police learned of their plan on social media and intervened.
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara has fewer problems with Finland becoming a NATO member than with neighboring Sweden. However, he stressed that it was up to the military alliance to decide whether to accept a single country or the Nordic duo together, something both countries are committed to.
If NATO decides to treat the Nordic neighbors’ membership processes separately, “(Turkey) will then, of course, reconsider (ratify) Finland’s membership separately and more favorably, I can say,” Cavusoglu told a conference. joint press conference with his Estonian colleague. in Tallinn. He did not give a time frame.
Erdogan also repeated that Turkey’s view of Finland’s membership was “positive”.
Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told Swedish news agency TT that his country was abiding by an agreement reached by Turkey, Sweden and Finland last year, but said that “religion is not part of the of the agreement”.
“Having said that, I fully understand that people are offended by the burning of sacred writings and perceive it as deeply hurtful,” he said.
“What is needed now is for the situation to cool down on all sides,” Billström said, adding that talks with Turkey on the implementation of the deal are continuing. With the joint memorandum signed last year, Sweden and Finland agreed to address Turkey’s security concerns.
The minister also linked Erdogan’s comments to Turkish domestic politics.
Erdogan, who faces a tough presidential election in May amid an economic downturn and high inflation, is expected to use his heavy hand against Sweden to rally nationalist support.
“Right now there is an election campaign in Turkey and many things are said in election campaigns,” Billström said.
