Stockholm responded to a condition set by Turkey to agree to Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom said that his country is implementing a preliminary agreement reached with Turkey regarding joining the alliance, adding that freedom of expression was not part of the agreement.
Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached an agreement on future prospects in Madrid last June during a NATO summit.
The Swedish minister told the Swedish news agency TT that “religion is not part of the agreement” that was signed with Turkey.
Recently, a far-right Danish-Swedish politician burned a copy of the Qur’an in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Billstrom said he understood Turkey’s anger over the incidents.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “Our position on Finland is positive, but it is not positive on Sweden,” during a speech to parliamentarians on Wednesday.
Last year, Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance, but faced objections from Turkey and tried to win its support since then.
“Sweden should not bother trying at this stage. We will not say ‘yes’ to their request to join NATO as long as they allow the burning of the Koran,” Erdogan said.
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