Sweden’s prime minister says ‘foreign actors’ are exploiting protests – KXAN Austin
STOCKHOLM (AP) – Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday condemned activists who burned the Koran and hung a picture of Turkey’s president in Stockholm as “useful idiots” for foreign powers seeking to harm the Scandinavian country as it seeks to join NATO.
– We have seen how foreign actors, even state actors, have used these demonstrations to incite the situation in a way that is directly harmful to Swedish security, Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm without naming any countries.
The prime minister gathered leaders of Sweden’s parliamentary parties to discuss the national security situation amid rising tensions with Turkey and a wave of anti-Swedish protests in other Muslim countries.
The protests came in response to a series of small demonstrations this month in Stockholm targeting Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a protest, a picture of Erdogan was hung on a lamp post outside Stockholm City Hall. In another, a far-right activist burned a Koran outside the Turkish embassy.
Ankara reacted furiously to the protests and warned that Sweden could not expect its support to join NATO.
Swedish government officials have distanced themselves from the protests while emphasizing that they are protected by freedom of expression.
“The groups and individuals who carried out these kinds of actions, in this security situation, they become useful idiots for forces that want to harm Sweden,” Kristersson said.
He said his center-right government is working through diplomatic channels to defuse the situation and that he has spoken by phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members except Turkey and Hungary have ratified their accession, but unanimity is required.