HELSINKI. She steps up her blackmail to Stockholm and to Helsinki in Anchorwhich yesterday proceeded to cancel indefinitely negotiations with the two countries, maintaining a veto over their inclusion in NATO. The trilateral meeting was scheduled for February, but due to the election campaign in Turkey, Ankara disrupted the talks, which, as expected, could delay the prospect of their participation in North Atlantic Alliance. The reason for the decision was the burning of the Koran by the leader of an ultra-right organization at a demonstration that took place on Saturday in Stockholm, as well as the mobilization of Kurdish activists in many cities of the country in protest against Turkey’s demand to extradite those accused of “terrorism” (separatist actions).

The Turkish government opposes their entry, citing security concerns, in particular the patronage and tolerance of “terrorist” organizations such as the PKK and the Gülenists. The memorandum, signed at the NATO summit in Madrid last year, commits the two countries to take concrete steps to address Turkey’s concerns. But a demonstration in Stockholm in mid-January, during which an effigy of Erdogan was hung by the leg in front of city hall, poisoned the atmosphere. The scapegoat in the negotiations was the burning of the holy book of Muslims last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Stockholm was irritated by Helsinki’s intention to break the joint prospect of the two countries joining NATO in case Ankara retains its veto over Sweden. After a telephone conversation with his Swedish counterpart and Mr. Finnish Foreign Minister Jens Stoltenberg returned yesterday and clarified that the goal of concurrent membership remains a top priority. “It is unlikely that Turkey will decide whether to approve Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO bids before the Turkish elections, which are due to be held in May this year,” he said and called for a break in the talks for several weeks. The next opportunity to approve NATO membership will be the Alliance’s summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July.

Stockholm’s irritation was caused by Helsinki’s intention to sever the common prospect of the two countries joining NATO.

Immediately after the announcement of the disconnection of the two countries, Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola tweeted that simultaneous accession was in the interests of Helsinki and Stockholm. “It’s important to keep your composure,” he said. This was preceded by a request from the Swedish Foreign Ministry for clarification on behalf of Helsinki.

Mr. Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized the position of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who had previously threatened to block Sweden’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization due to the desecration of the Koran. In an interview he gave to the German newspaper Die Welt, Stoltenberg emphasized that “freedom of expression is a valuable commodity in Sweden and in all other NATO member countries. For this reason, misconduct is not automatically considered illegal.” “The Swedish government condemned (this protest) very clearly,” Stoltenberg recalled in an interview with Die Welt. It was preceded by a sharp reaction from Erdogan, who made it clear that after this episode, Stockholm can no longer count on the support of Ankara.

Turkish officials have repeatedly criticized their Western counterparts for ignoring or inciting far-right views, especially in countries such as the UK, France and Germany, which have large Muslim minorities. According to Turkey’s argument, European governments invest less in combating Islamophobia and sometimes resort to inflammatory rhetoric. Finally, they are concerned that demonstrations like the one in Sweden could increase Islamophobic incidents on the Old Continent, not decrease them.

Reading about the Quran

CONSTANTINOPOLE. The Turkish Foreign Ministry sent a protest letter yesterday to the Dutch ambassador after a demonstration against the Koran, while a similar protest in Sweden sparked a crisis in bilateral relations. The leader of the Dutch wing of the Islamophobic Pegida movement, which flourished in the former East Germany a few years ago, ripped pages from a copy of the Koran on Sunday and then trampled them outside the Dutch parliament. The police watched what was happening without interfering. “This dastardly act, this time in the Netherlands after Sweden, is a clear statement that Islamophobia, discrimination and xenophobia know no borders in Europe,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Ankara’s relations with the Netherlands were soured in 2017 when the Dutch authorities banned Turkish politicians from making campaign speeches in the country so as not to affect the Turkish diaspora. In fact, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared the Dutch to the Nazis, and the ambassadors withdrew.