Turkey rules out "remaining silent" in the face of "anti-Turkish" protests in Sweden

MADRID, 23 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, has ruled out on Monday the idea that the country “remains silent” in the face of the “anti-Turkish” protests that have taken place over the weekend in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

“It is not acceptable for us to remain silent in the face of this type of incident,” Akar pointed out in relation to the burning of a copy of the Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy in the country as part of a demonstration against the entry of Sweden. in NATO and the pressure exerted by the Turkish government.

Akar, who has once again urged the Swedish authorities to “comply with the trilateral agreements” also reached with Finland to make way for both countries to join NATO, has threatened to change his mind. “So our position regarding their membership is obvious,” he said, according to information from the newspaper ‘Hurriyet’.

In this sense, he has lashed out at Stockholm for allowing far-right politician Rasmus Paludan to burn the Koran. Subsequently, the authorities have confirmed the suspension of the visit of the Swedish Defense Minister, Pal Jonson, who was scheduled to come to Ankara on January 27 to discuss Sweden’s accession to the Alliance.

“Simply, just as they seek cooperation with NATO in matters of defense, we want cooperation in matters of terrorism. They ask for support to defend and secure their countries but they reject our demands to put an end to terrorism,” he lamented before add that Turkey “has always supported NATO’s open door policy”. “We are not against its inclusion,” she has maintained.

In this sense, he stressed that Ankara expects both countries to “put an end to all these actions” against Turkey “in accordance with the trilateral pact reached in June 2022” during the NATO summit held in Madrid.

Sweden and Finland decided to abandon their neutral positions after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and thus request their inclusion in NATO. Of the 30 members that form it, only Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified their membership.