Stockholm, 25 January 2023 (GNP): The Swedish Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstorm, refrained from responding to questions about the recent desecration of the Holy Quran in Stockholm. The Swedish Foreign Minister was attending the European Union Foreign Relations Committee meeting in Brussels. When media persons asked him about the recent desecration of the Quran in Stockholm, the Swedish Foreign Minister did not answer this question.
He described the priorities of his country for the EU and Sweden but when a question was asked about the burning of the Holy Quran by a far-right politician, Ramus Paludan, in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, who was granted both prior permission and police protection by the government of Social Democrats, the party that won the general elections in November 2021.
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Meanwhile, when the Swedish Foreign Minister was attending the Committee meeting, a similar question was also posed by the independent member of Hungary to the EU parliament, Marton Gyongyosi.
He asked from Foreign Minister how the process of Sweden’s membership in NATO would be geared up in face of the present desecration of the Holy Quran in his country and targeting Ankara for not giving their consent to Sweden’s membership in NATO.
This move would further harden the Turkish stance, added the Hungarian member.
Both Sweden and Finland have formally applied for membership in NATO after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
However, Turkey does not give its approval for their membership. Ankara points out that both Helsinki and Stockholm have given refuge to Kurds rebels and their supporters fighting for an independent country, Kurdistan, in Turkey. Ankara says that these rebels and their supporters should be expelled from these Nordic countries and handed over to Turkey.
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A similar desecration of the Quran was also done by a Dutch far-right politician, Edwin Wagenslved, sharing this video also on Twitter.
The Swedish Foreign Minister also added that his country would follow in true spirit the last June memorandum signed between Turkey, Finland, and Sweden for taking serious measures against terrorists and their supporters in these Nordic countries.
Finland previously announced that it would not pursue its NATO membership if Sweden were also not granted this membership, too.
However, changing their stance, Helsinki said that it would go after alone this membership even if Sweden is not granted membership or does not follow its application