Joe Biden to host Swedish PM in White House amid Quran burning controversy
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
US President Joe Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson next week in the White House amid the Quran burning controversy, AFP reported. The two leaders will talk about Sweden’s bid to join NATO and the war in Ukraine during the July 5 meeting.
Biden and Kristersson "will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible," said the White House in a statement.
NATO chief calls meeting over Sweden
Earlier, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said that a meeting between officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland will be held on July 6 in Brussels to discuss Sweden’s NATO membership. “The time is now to welcome Sweden as a full member of NATO," he said ata press conference.
Sweden’s entry into NATO will be a symbolic moment for the Western alliance as it will indicate how Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving more and more European nations towards the West.
Turkey-Sweden tensions over Quran burning
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Meanwhile, the tensions between Turkey and Sweden are running red-hot over the Quran-burning incident in Stockholm earlier this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week hinted that this would pose another obstacle to Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Speaking to members of his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan drew a comparison between “those who permitted the crime” and those who perpetrated it.
“We will eventually teach Western monuments of hubris that insulting Muslims’ sacred values is not freedom of thought,” Erdogan said.
Turkey has long criticised Sweden for displaying leniency when dealing with anti-Turkey Kurdish groups, which Ankara sees as terrorists. Turkey accuses these Kurdish groups of being involved in a prolonged and deadly insurgency.
Watch:Sweden permits Quran burning protests - World News
Although Sweden has recently made changes to its anti-terror legislation pertaining to these groups, Turkey argues that supporters of these organisations are able to freely organise demonstrations, recruit new members, and obtain financial resources within Sweden.
Now, the Quran burning incident has further strained ties between Turkey and Sweden. Anti-Sweden protests were held in Ankara earlier this week, where the protestors burnt the flags of Sweden outside the Swedish embassy.
Hungary also yet to ratify Sweden’s membership
Apart from Turkey, Hungary is also yet to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Hungarian lawmakers have announced that the parliamentary vote on ratifying Sweden's NATO membership, which has already faced delays, will not take place until the autumn legislative session.
Since NATO requires unanimous approval from all member countries to expand, it is highly unlikely that Sweden will receive the green light in time for the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
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