NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reacted on Monday to a threat by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to withhold his support from Sweden's bid to join the military alliance following the burning of a Koran during an extreme-right protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
"Of course, I am against the kind of behaviour that we have seen on the streets of Stockholm,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with German TV channel Die Welt. "Freedom of expression and freedom of thought is a precious commodity, in Sweden and in all other NATO countries. That is also why inappropriate acts are not necessarily illegal.”
On Saturday afternoon, Swedish-Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan burned a Koran during a demonstration outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, during which he denounced the negotiations between Ankara and Stockholm.
“The Swedish government has condemned this demonstration in no uncertain terms,” Stoltenberg said.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had come out strongly against Paludan's action in a Twitter message on Saturday. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy, but what is legal is not necessarily appropriate,” he said. “Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended.”
"Those who allow such blasphemy can no longer expect our support..."
However, after Saturday’s Koran-burning incident, Turkey cancelled a planned visit to Ankara by Sweden’s Defence Minister.
Sweden’s application to join NATO, like that of Finland, already has the support of 28 of the 30 NATO members, while Hungary has said it plans to do so when its parliament opens in February. That would leave Erdogan's Turkey as the sole holdout.
On Monday, news agencies reported the Turkish Prime Minister as doubling down on his threat to block the move to increase NATO's membership.
"Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership," Reuters quoted Erdogan as saying on Monday. "If you love members of terrorist organisations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for your countries' security."
Turkey has been blocking the NATO accession bids of both Sweden and Finland since May. Ankara accuses the Scandinavian countries of harbouring Kurdish sympathisers and “terrorists.”
