Its decision to cancel the planned visit of Sweden’s Defense Minister, Paul Jonsson, to Turkey announced Ankara, due to an anti-Turkish demonstration held in Stockholm.
“Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson’s visit to Turkey on January 27 lost its meaning and importance, so we canceled it”Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
Jonson’s visit was aimed at persuading Ankara to lift its objections to its accession Sweden in NATO.
Aker indicated that he discussed the issue of the demonstration with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and conveyed his reaction to his Swedish counterpart on the sidelines of yesterday’s conference of countries that support Ukraine militarily in Ramstein, Germany.
The Swedish authorities have given permission to far-right Swede Rasmus Paludan to organize a rally in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm today, during which he intends to “burn the Koran”.
The event has caused a strong reaction from Ankara.
Yesterday was Friday Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador to protest that Swedish authorities had given permission for this demonstration to take place near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
The ministry also told the Swedish ambassador that allowing a separate protest also to be held today by a group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) “sympathizers” was a violation of bilateral agreements.
Sweden and Finland are waiting for Turkey to approve their accession to NATO. Last week, Staffan Herström, the Swedish ambassador to Turkey, was summoned to the foreign ministry over another demonstration in which participants hanged an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sweden condemned the incident, but Ankara says it should take a clear stance against terrorism.
Source: News Beast
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