Erdogan does not want to give in in the dispute with Sweden over NATO membership for the Scandinavians. He now gives the burning of the Koran as the reason.
Munich/Ankara – Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been fighting against Sweden and Finland joining NATO for months. Erdogan is now using right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Koran to cement his position against Sweden. On the other hand, he remains demonstratively open to a change in attitude towards Finland.
NATO expansion: Erdogan continues to resist Swedish membership
On Wednesday (February 1), Erdogan once again promised approval for Finland’s admission to NATO without Sweden. With regard to Finland, the process is viewed “positively,” said Erdogan at a cabinet meeting in Ankara. “But we don’t look at Sweden positively, that should be said,” he added.
One observes the situation around Sweden very closely. “Don’t try in vain!” was Erdogan’s message to the country. “As long as you and your security forces allow my holy book, the Koran, to be burned and torn up, we will not agree to you joining NATO,” emphasized the head of the Islamic-conservative AKP.
Erdogan accuses Sweden of supporting “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. Several Islamophobic actions in Europe have led to new tensions. Ankara used Paludan’s burning of the Koran as an opportunity to suspend talks about Sweden’s accession to NATO. Sweden wants to join the western military alliance together with Finland as a result of the Ukraine war against Ukraine.
Turkey puts Sweden under pressure: Stockholm counters – “No compromises on freedom of expression”
Ankara is demanding concrete actions from Stockholm to show that it is fulfilling the “obligations” from the NATO summit agreement in Madrid. However, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom emphasized on Wednesday that religion was not part of this agreement. “We do not compromise on freedom of expression,” he said, according to broadcaster SVT.
Sweden has committed itself to fulfilling the “memorandum” on joining NATO. “And we will do that within the framework set by our constitution, our legislation and our principles of legal certainty,” Billström clarified. Sweden had so far expressed caution towards Turkey. However, a court recently put a stop to the extradition of a journalist to Ankara.
Nato dispute with Turkey: resistance to Sweden, praise for Finland
At a press conference with his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu emphasized that no “concrete steps” had yet been taken. While the security interests of Sweden and Finland are understood, it is legitimate to expect that these countries understand Turkey’s security concerns.
He also criticized the Swedish government for burning the Koran. Stockholm not only allows this, but also provides security forces to protect these protests. Cavusoglu spoke of “provocations” by radical people. On the other hand, he praised Finland. In contrast to Stockholm, Helsinki does not allow such provocations.
Finland does not want to allow Koran burning – “violation of religious freedom”
According to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, the Finnish police announced a few days ago that the burning of the Koran was not compatible with Finnish law. Such a demonstration would not be allowed and would not be intervened, the police said. In addition, investigations into the “violation of religious freedom” were announced for this case. Kimmo Nuito, a law professor at the University of Helsinki, also stated that the police are under no obligation to protect a possible Koran burning.
In the press conference, Cavusoglu claimed that Ankara does not want to split the joint application by Sweden and Finland. “Turkey has no aspirations to split up the membership process,” said Erdogan’s minister. However, if the two countries decide to do so, Turkey will consider the Finnish application separately and will of course be more positive about it. (bb)
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