Turkey’s president downplayed the chances of a significant breakthrough at talks this week to bring Sweden into NATO, amid a row over the burning of a Quran in Stockholm.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking before discussions between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Sweden and Finland on Thursday, slammed last week’s incident, including the fact Swedish police allowed it to proceed.
“The determined struggle with terrorist organizations and Islamophobia is our red line,” Erdogan said on Monday after a cabinet meeting in Ankara. “These are hate crimes that feed on hostility to Islam. It’s much worse that this hate crime can be committed under police protection.”
The ministers are meant to help break an impasse that has kept Sweden waiting to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for more than a year. Their talks will come ahead of a high-stakes summit of leaders of the alliance on July 11 and 12.
The desecration of Islam’s holy book happened after Sweden’s police had denied permits for similar demonstrations in recent months, citing national security concerns. But their decisions have been overturned by courts ruling that freedom of speech must be prioritized unless there is an immediate threat to public safety. Sweden’s government has condemned burnings of the Quran.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Erdogan quickly objected to the bid, alleging that Stockholm supported groups Turkey classifies as terrorists. Still, Turkey has allowed the membership process to nudge forward and agreed to fellow applicant Finland joining the bloc in April, despite initial concerns.
For NATO, northern enlargement would boost its presence in the Arctic and give it more clout in the Baltic Sea. Sweden’s entry is particularly important for Finland to secure supply routes and bring depth to its defenses.
To date, 29 of NATO’s 31 members have ratified Sweden’s entry, with Hungary continuing to stall alongside Turkey. Hungary will back Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance once Turkey gives a sign that it’s also ready to do so, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday to discuss Ankara’s position.
“The Turkish nation is not warm and sympathetic to Sweden’s entry into NATO in its current state and outlook,” Devlet Bahceli, and Erdogan ally and leader of the MHP nationalist party, said on Tuesday.
MHP wants “sincere and convincing steps” from Sweden, he said.
Sweden had hoped a major step would be its new anti-terror law, which entered into force on last month. In Stockholm’s view, it was the last remaining obligation under an agreement signed last year to pave the way for ratification. Still, Erdogan has said that the legislation, which makes participation in any terrorist group punishable by law, is not enough.
(Zoltan Simon contributed to this report.)
