On Saturday, January 21, protests took place in Stockholm against Turkey and Sweden's entry into NATO. During one of them they burned the Koran. Ankara has already reacted.

According to media reports, a copy of the Koran at the Turkish consulate was burned by the leader of the Danish far-right political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, who has Swedish citizenship. This is not the first such act of his.

Protests in Stockholm

On the same day, a separate protest was held in Stockholm in support of the Kurds against the entry of Sweden in NATO and another rally of pro-Turkish demonstrators near the embassy. All measures were allowed by the police.

During a demonstration to protest Sweden's NATO bid and in support of the Kurds, people stood in front of a large red flag that read “We are all PKK” – the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is banned in Turkey, Sweden, the US and other countries.

The Quran was burned during the action in Stockholm: watch the video

Turkish reaction

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the burning of the Koran. Ankara calls on the Swedish authorities to take action against those involved. They also appealed to all other countries with a request to take “concrete steps” in solidarity against Islamophobia.

A little later, another statement from Turkey appeared. They condemned the action of the “PKK terrorist organization.” Stockholm was accused of flagrantly violating a tripartite memorandum of understanding under which Ankara promised not to block the entry of the two countries in exchange for fulfilling its demands.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilström called the Islamophobic provocations appalling.

< p>“Sweden has far-reaching freedom of expression, but this does not mean that the Swedish government or I personally support the opinions expressed,” he wrote.

They burned the flag Sweden

In response to the protest action with the burning of the Koran in Stockholm, Turkey burned the national flag of Sweden. The mass action was held under the building of the Swedish Embassy in Istanbul. The Swedish authorities have not yet reacted to it.

Turkey's response to the burning of the Koran: watch the video