– I know that the burning of the Koran in Stockholm has caused strong reactions in Turkey. I understand and share this pain, Stoltenberg said at a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt avusoglu on Thursday.
– I personally see the burning of the holy book as a shameful act, he added.
Set the Koran on fire
Stoltenberg is in Turkey on Thursday to visit the earthquake affected areas. He will also have a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Among other things, the two will talk about the NATO applications to Sweden and Finland, which Turkey has refused to approve.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted strongly to the Koran burning in Stockholm in January. In retrospect, he said that Turkey cannot approve Sweden’s NATO application. Photo: AP / NTB
Turkey has made a number of demands in order to let Sweden into the alliance. The conflict between the two countries escalated when far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to the Koran outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm last month.
– Sweden should give up the attempt. We are not going to say yes to their NATO application as long as they allow Koran burning, Erdogan said after the Koran burning.
He also hinted that Turkey might let in Finland, but not Sweden.
Thinks Sweden must do more
Stoltenberg, for his part, has said that it is up to Turkey to decide whether it wants to approve the NATO applications of both Finland and Sweden, or just one of them.
But he has also made it clear that he believes the time has come to allow both countries into the alliance.
– That is still my position, and it has not changed, Stoltenberg said earlier this week.
avusoglu is of a different opinion.
– We have not seen concrete steps yet, he said at the press conference with Stoltenberg.
– Turkey’s concerns must be met, said the Turkish foreign minister.
Among other things, Turkey has demanded that Sweden hand over a number of people the Turkish authorities claim are associated with the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gülen movement.
Condolences
On Thursday, Stoltenberg will travel on to the areas that were hit by catastrophic earthquakes last Monday.
– The earthquake disaster in Turkey is the deadliest in a NATO country since the alliance was founded, Stoltenberg said at the press conference.
– On behalf of NATO, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people of Turkey and the families of all those who lost their lives or were injured, said the NATO commander.
