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Sweden continues to allow Quran burning as its NATO bid remains in dispute

Sweden has yet to take any concrete steps towards cracking down on terrorist groups or heeding Türkiye's extradition demands, while the Nordic state continues to provide a platform for bigoted Quran burning spectacles.

Reuters

Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden still wanted to join NATO before or at its summit in Vilnius next month. / Photo: Reuters

Swedish police said they have granted a permit for a protest where the organiser plans to burn a Quran outside Stockholm's main mosque on Wednesday, the start of the Muslim three-day Eid al-Adha holiday.

The green light came two weeks after a Swedish appeals court rejected a police ban on Quran burning protests, following a burning of Islam's holy book outside Türkiye's embassy in January which led to weeks of protests, calls for a boycott of Swedish goods and further stalled Sweden's NATO membership bid.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden still wanted to join NATO before or at its summit in Vilnius next month although it was not certain it would be able to do so by then.

Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia's offensive in Ukraine last year, seeking greater security by joining NATO.

Finland became an alliance member in April but the process has been slower for Sweden.

Sweden has set its sights on joining at the alliance's July 11-12 summit and while it has support from other members including the United States, both Türkiye and Hungary have so far held back from ratification.

"Sweden will become a NATO member," Kristersson said in an interview with public service broadcaster SVT.

"Nobody can promise it will happen specifically in Vilnius or right ahead of Vilnius, even if that has been our ambition all along. And that is an ambition we share with every other NATO country as well."

Türkiye strongly condemns 'vile attack' against Quran in Sweden

Harbouring members of terror groups

Türkiye has said Sweden harbours members of terrorist groups and has demanded their extradition as a step toward ratifying Swedish membership. It has also expressed outrage over anti-Turkish demonstrations held in the Nordic country.

Türkiye, Finland and Sweden signed a memorandum last June at the NATO summit in Madrid to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for the two Nordic countries' eventual membership in the alliance.

Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have warned that Türkiye will not give the nod to the memberships of Sweden and Finland until the memorandum is implemented.

Unanimous consent from all 31 existing allied countries is required for a country to join NATO.