TV2: Sweden has not lost hope for NATO membership, despite Erdogan's statementAfter the incident with the Koran, Erdogan said that he did not intend to meet the Swedes halfway on the issue of NATO membership, TV2 reports.
Perhaps for selfish purposes, the correspondent of the TV channel believes. Erdogan has a habit of expressing himself sharply, but his statements cannot be considered the last word.
Emilie Haaber LynggaardOn Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again made it clear that Sweden should not expect Ankara to support its membership in NATO.
Especially after the founder of the Hard Course party Rasmus Paludan burned the Koran in front of its embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.
But although Erdogan's statement puts a spoke in the wheels of the Swedes in their desire to join NATO, there may be something else behind it.
Elections will be held in Turkey in a few months, and public opinion polls do not promise anything good for Erdogan, who has been in power for a long time. In other words, by burning the Koran, Rasmus Paludan could make an unexpected political gift to Erdogan.
Because by defending Islam not only in Turkey, but also on the world stage, Erdogan will be able to strengthen his position, says TV2 journalist and former correspondent in Turkey Martin Selse Sorensen.
The bar is rising higher and higherSweden is waiting for a response to its application for admission to NATO together with Finland.
To do this, they must be approved by all 30 member countries.
However, Turkey has been resisting this for a long time. So in this sense, the Paludan action in Stockholm has changed practically nothing, says Martin Selse Sørensen.
"The burning of the Koran did not force Erdogan to change his position, but the news is that he said publicly what he had only hinted about for several months: that he does not intend to meet the Swedes halfway on the issue of NATO membership," Sorensen believes.
Since Sweden filed an official application in May, the Turks, among other things, have demanded that Stockholm fight terrorism more actively.
This applies, in particular, to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist in the EU and the United States.
In addition, Turkey demands that Sweden expel a number of citizens allegedly involved in the PKK.
Stockholm rejected the extradition request and made it clear that this issue is within the competence of the Swedish courts.
Sweden condemned the burning of the Koran, but it was still followed by the cancellation of visits by ministers of both countries.
"Erdogan is constantly raising the bar of his demands for Sweden to join NATO. At the same time, he knows perfectly well that the Swedes will not be able to fulfill what Turkey is asking, because for them it is, among other things, a fundamental issue of freedom of opinion," Martin Selse Sørensen believes.
Hope is not lost for SwedenRecep Tayyip Erdogan became president in 2014.
He became famous for leading Turkey into a new era in which the country would not tolerate "humiliation" even from NATO.
However, Martin Selse Sorensen notes that Turkey's economy has faltered, and public opinion polls do not promise Erdogan anything good. He has few options, so he has to take on international conflicts.
"And in this sense, the burning of the Koran becomes a clear personification of the conflict with Sweden for a simple Turk," he believes.
The Swedish government has not yet commented on Erdogan's condemnation on Monday, but on Saturday — the day Rasmus Paludan burned the Koran — Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called this step "deeply disrespectful."
"Freedom of speech is an integral part of democracy. But legitimate and appropriate are not the same thing at all. Burning sacred books for many is an act of deep disrespect. I want to express my sympathy to all Muslims offended by what happened in Stockholm today," Kristersson tweeted.
However, even despite the burned Koran and Turkey's demands for extradition, Sweden's hope for NATO membership is not yet lost.
Martin Selse Sørensen believes that first you need to wait for the results of the elections in Turkey.
"Erdogan constantly makes loud statements, but then some time passes and a solution is still found one way or another. He has a habit of expressing himself quite sharply, but his statements cannot be considered the last word," he believes.
The US State Department also condemned the burning of the Koran on Monday evening, calling it a "disrespectful step."
