Turkey condemns Koran burning in Stockholm
Turkey has strongly condemned the burning of a copy of the Koran during a protest in Stockholm on Saturday.
A leader of a right-wing group burned the Islamic holy book in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry immediately released a statement condemning, in the strongest possible terms, what it called “the heinous attack.” The statement calls the book burning a “direct hate crime”.
Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström wrote on Twitter that “Sweden has far-reaching freedom of speech, but that does not mean that the Swedish government, or myself, support the views expressed.”
Sweden and Finland have applied to join the NATO military alliance after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Turkey has demanded that the two Nordic countries take measures against terrorism, including conditions for Ankara to approve its NATO membership. The Turkish government accuses both countries of harboring separatist Kurdish militants.
Ankara tightens its stance against Sweden’s accession to the alliance.
Turkey canceled a meeting with its defense minister and his Swedish counterpart scheduled for next Friday in response to the Swedish government’s permission for the protest.