Sweden’s government said the hanging of an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm was a deliberate attempt to block the Nordic nation’s efforts to become a member of the NATO alliance.
(Bloomberg) — Sweden’s government said the hanging of an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm was a deliberate attempt to block the Nordic nation’s efforts to become a member of the NATO alliance.
“This is disgusting, and any country would think so,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference in Kiruna, Sweden, with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “This is a sabotage against Sweden’s and Finland’s application for NATO membership, with the explicit intent of hindering their accession.”
Turkey reacted to images of the action, posted on Twitter by a group calling for protest against Swedish membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, by canceling a planned visit by the speaker of the Swedish Parliament, Andreas Norlen, to Ankara next week, while Erdogan’s lawyers filed a criminal complaint in Turkey against the protesters.
Turkey has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but a trilateral agreement signed in June allowed the process to move forward. The memorandum laid out measures that Sweden and Finland would take to alleviate Turkey’s concerns that the Nordic countries weren’t doing enough to stop activities of groups it labels as terrorists.
Sweden has rejected some of Turkey’s demands, including to extradite some suspects, after its courts blocked such moves and as the government has no sway over the judiciary.
In a separate statement, Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said the government understands that Turkey has reacted, although it regrets the postponement of Norlen’s Ankara visit.
“Relations with Turkey are very important to Sweden,” Billstrom said. “Implementation of the memorandum continues.”
The foreign minister also echoed Kristersson’s assertion that the action was meant as a deliberate sabotage of Sweden’s NATO application, and said it could delay the accession process and play into the hands of Russia.
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