Turkey cancels Swedish defence minister visit after protest permit

• Swedish authorities granted permission for protests in Stockholm.
• In protest, the Muslim holy book the Quran will be burned.
• In response, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar cancelled Sweden’s defense minister visit.

Istanbul: Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on Saturday that his Swedish counterpart’s planned visit to Ankara has been cancelled after Swedish authorities granted permission for protests in Stockholm.

“At this point, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson’s visit to Turkey on January 27 is meaningless. As a result, we cancelled the visit “Akar stated.

Swedish Defence Minister Jonson had planned to visit Ankara next week at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, in the hope of persuading Turkey to ratify its NATO membership bid.

On the sidelines of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Akar said he discussed the lack of measures for protests in Sweden against Turkey with President Tayyip Erdogan and conveyed his reaction to his Swedish counterpart.

“It is unacceptable not to act or respond to these situations (protests). The necessary actions and measures should have been taken “According to a Turkish defense ministry statement, Akar stated.

On Friday, Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador over the authorities’ approval for a protest near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Saturday, in which the Muslim holy book the Quran will be burned.

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