The U.S. State Department spokesperson claimed that the "repugnant" Qur'an burning by Swedish-Danish activist in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm could have been done to undermine NATO unity, as Türkiye was outraged against Sweden for permitting such provocation.
Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan on Saturday torched the Islamic holy book in front of Ankara's embassy in Stockholm just as Türkiye holds up Sweden's application to be part of the transatlantic alliance for failing to keep up to its promises made in a trilateral memorandum signed with Finland.
"Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. "It's repugnant," he said, also calling the incident "disgusting" and "vile."
Price said the burning was the work of "a provocateur" who "may have deliberately sought to put distance between two close partners of ours – Turkey and Sweden." He "may have deliberately sought to have an impact on the ongoing discussion regarding the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO," Price added.
Price defended the stance of Sweden, saying that it upholds "freedom of association" and that an act "can be lawful and awful at the same time." He explained, "I think in this case, what we've seen in the context of Sweden falls into that category."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded to the provocation by saying that Sweden should not expect Türkiye's support for its NATO bid after allowing such an act filled with hatred, as well as anti-Türkiye protests by terrorist PKK/YPG supporters.
Since officially applying for membership in May 2022, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland have been striving and struggling to secure Türkiye’s approval for joining the bloc. The Turkish government is objecting to their accession on grounds of security concerns, namely "harboring and tolerating" terrorist groups such as the PKK, and FETÖ.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) the sides inked at a NATO summit in Madrid stipulates that the two countries take concrete steps to address the said concerns, increase their crackdown on terrorist organizations and deport people suspected of terrorism-related crimes.
For the last month, however, public support in Sweden for terrorist groups by sympathizers has been raising tensions between the two countries, actions which Ankara has repeatedly warned would jeopardize Stockholm’s NATO membership process.
A scandalous mid-January protest in Stockholm wherein an effigy of President Erdoğan was hanged by its feet in front of the city hall has particularly impaired negotiations, with Saturday’s Qur'an burning session as the boiling point.
Türkiye summoned the Swedish ambassador and canceled a visit by Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen, as well as Defense Minister Pal Jonson to Ankara. Amid an outpouring of international denouncements, dozens of Turkish officials, including defense and foreign ministers as well as opposition party leaders, slammed Sweden for enabling Paludan.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted late on Saturday that freedom of expression was crucial to democracy but added that "what is legal is not necessarily appropriate."
"Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today," said Kristersson.
However, Türkiye remains incensed about the incident, and Sweden’s bid to ascend to NATO seems more perilous than ever.