Turkey Summons Swedish Ambassador Over Erdogan Puppet Protest In Stockholm.
Turkey summoned Sweden’s Ambassador to Ankara on Thursday, a diplomatic source said, over a demonstration in Stockholm in which a puppet of President Tayyip Erdogan was hung from its feet.
Sweden has been seeking Turkey’s approval to join NATO, for which it applied after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Ankara has said Sweden needed to take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and the organisation it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara’s objections to their NATO membership.
Staffan Herrstrom, Sweden’s Ambassador to Turkey, was summoned to the foreign ministry on Thursday and Ankara’s reaction was conveyed to him, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
“Our expectation that the perpetrators of the incident need to be identified, the necessary processes be carried out and Sweden uphold its promises was emphasised,” the source said.
Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed the ambassador had been called to the foreign ministry in Ankara, but declined to give details of what was discussed.
Herrstrom was previously summoned in October over “insulting content” about Erdogan on Swedish public service television.
Scenes of protests in Stockholm has been a particular issue mentioned by Turkish authorities in the past, with Erdogan saying members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) should not be allowed to parade around Sweden.
Staffan Herrstrom, Sweden’s ambassador to Turkey, was summoned to the foreign ministry on Thursday and Ankara’s reaction was conveyed to him, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
“Our expectation that the perpetrators of the incident need to be identified, the necessary processes be carried out and Sweden uphold its promises was emphasised,” the source said.
Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed the ambassador had been called to the foreign ministry in Ankara, but declined to give details of what was discussed.
Herrstrom was previously summoned in October over “insulting content” about Erdogan on Swedish public service television.
Scenes of protests in Stockholm has been a particular issue mentioned by Turkish authorities in the past, with Erdogan saying members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) should not be allowed to parade around Sweden.
“That PKK terrorist can challenge the Swedish government at the heart of Stockholm is proof that the Swedish authorities have not taken necessary steps against terrorism,” the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said on Twitter.
Credit: Reuters
