Turkey imposes a new NATO condition on Sweden
At the same time, the Turkish leader repeated that “he is open to Finland joining NATO.” This position had previously been rejected by the government in Helsinki, which “stands to the line that both Finland and Sweden should join the Alliance for security reasons.”
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In Sweden, the burning of the Koran or books important to other religions, as well as national flags, is not prohibited by law. Such behavior falls within the limits of freedom of speech. The situation is different in Finland, where it can be considered an insult to religious feelings or an insult. For this reason, on Tuesday, the Helsinki police prevented a public burning of the Koran.
In the last days of the act of burning the Koran in Stockholm and Copenhagen by Swedish-Danish far-right activist Rasmus Paludan. This led to tensions between Ankara and Stockholm, and the Turkish side declared that it would not ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, responding to a question about a potential Russian attack on NATO candidate Sweden and Finland, said that “regardless of all kinds of threats, our position on this matter remains unchanged.”
“If both countries fulfill their obligations, we will consider the requests favourably. Without it, regardless of the situation, our position will not change. Also, our concerns must be taken into account, not just theirs,” said Cavusoglu, who is in Tallinn.
In June 2022, Stockholm and Helsinki committed to i.a. to consider Turkish requests for deportation or extradition, and to refrain from supporting the Kurdish YPG/PYD organization and the organization of the Islamic thinker Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of carrying out the failed coup in 2016. Cavusoglu admitted on Tuesday that “there is currently no chance of Turkey agreeing to Sweden’s accession to NATO.”
“We understand the concerns of Estonia, Sweden and Finland. Russia and terrorism remain a threat to NATO, as evidenced by the Alliance’s documents. Therefore, we expect an understanding of our concerns about terrorism,” the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry pointed out.
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