The chance of Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership appears thin after the protests following the Quran-burning incident in the Scandinavian nation. Even as most of the NATO membership welcomed the move of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, Turkey has been in a diplomatic stand-off with the nations over several issues and has been demanding concessions from Sweden, one of which is the extradition of Kurds.
Sweden’s bid to join NATO continues to lurk in dark. Amid this stalemate, Sweden gets another jolt as Turkey is now outraged after Danish activist Rasmus Paludan set Quran, the holy book of Islam, on fire outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on 21 January.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said they wouldn’t support Sweden for NATO membership and slammed Rasmus Paludan’s Quran-burning protest, saying it was an insult to everyone, especially to Muslims.
He also criticised Swedish authorities for allowing the demonstration to take place outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
“So you will let terror organizations run wild and then expect our support for getting into NATO. That’s not happening,” Erdogan said, referring to Sweden and Finland’s accession bids for the military alliance. He said if Sweden won’t show respect to Turkey or Muslims, then “they won’t see any support from us on the NATO issue.”
NATO membership approval by Turkey looks grim, and the stalemate, which continues since the Russia-Ukraine war started, seems to hold on for a further while.
While at one end, US continues to urge Turkey to ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland in NATO, Turkey seems relentless in its pursuit. Turkey is extremely important as a NATO member as the bloc requires unanimous approval from all existing member states to ratify any accession of other non-NATO members into it.
On January 22, while condemning Sweden for “state-supported Islamophobia”, Turkish people carried green flags in a display of their proclamation in their faith. These bitter ripples were seen in the diplomatic engagements as well as Turkey cancelled a planned visit by Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson to Ankara.
However, the friction was no less than a double-edged sword, as protests also erupted in Sweden where demonstrators hung the Turkish President’s effigy.
“Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said over the Quran-burning incident.
(With input from agencies)
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