Burning of a new Quran in Sweden might escalate ties with Turkey.
Another Quran burning in Stockholm has been given the go light by Swedish authorities, possibly escalating tensions with Turkey as Sweden waits for Ankara’s support to join NATO in July.
According to Swedish media, the Quran protest, which apparently only consists of two persons, is scheduled to take place in front of the capital’s major mosque on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha.
Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the president of Turkey, said earlier this year that he would not accept Sweden’s NATO membership if it did not respect Turkey or Muslims. The statement was made after the burning of a Quran in Stockholm next to the Turkish embassy by a far-right lawmaker, which heightened tensions between the two nations.
Although the authorities warned that the burning “may have foreign policy consequences,” the security concerns and probable fallout from the demonstration prevented the application from being turned down.
It comes after Sweden’s courts, citing the defense of free expression, overturned past police orders to ban anti-Quran protests.
Sweden’s membership in the alliance is something that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hopes to achieve by July, when the organization’s next formal summit is scheduled to take place in Vilnius.
Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, had earlier on Wednesday said that his nation still intended to join NATO by July but stressed that Turkey would have to decide whether to do so.
