Her ambassador Sweden in Turkey was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry today after a program was shown on Swedish public television that was described as “offensive” AnchorThis is reported by the official Turkish news agency Anadolu.

“Swedish Ambassador to Ankara Staffan Herström was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today in connection with the broadcast on state Swedish television (SVT) of a program of offensive content, with statements and images insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey,” Anadolu reported.

The ambassador was told that “rude and ugly language and images directed at Erdogan and Turkey are unacceptable,” Anadolu reported.

Relations between Ankara and Stockholm have been strained since Turkey has been threatening to block the northern country’s NATO membership since mid-May.

Erdogan: promises from Sweden and Finland ‘not kept’

On Saturday, the Turkish president again warned that he could block Sweden and Finland from joining the Atlantic Alliance “until the promises” made by the two countries are “fulfilled.”

Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of harboring Kurdish militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the YPG, which Ankara considers terrorist organizations.

This week, a Swedish delegation was due to travel to Turkey to continue talks after a trilateral meeting in late August in Finland.

One of the most sensitive moments concerns dozens of requests for the extradition to Ankara of dissidents, mainly Kurdish fighters and members of the Gülen movement.

To date, 28 member states – out of thirty – of the Atlantic Alliance have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland.

^{Source: APE, AFP, Reuters, Anadolu.}