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Ankara: Turkey has cancelled the upcoming visit of Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson to the country, in response to Stockholm police giving permission to burn a copy of the Holy Quran during a planned protest in the Swedish capital.
Johnson was planning to visit Turkey on January 27 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, as the Scandinavian country hopes to urge Turkey to ratify its bid to join NATO.
“Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson’s visit to Turkey on January 27 lost its significance, so we cancelled the visit,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, Anadolu Agency reported.
On Saturday, January 21, Swedish right-wing leader Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Holy Quran, with the permission of the Swedish government.
Paludan set fire to the Holy Quran surrounded by the police with a lighter after a long sermon, which lasted about an hour, in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden.
On Friday, January 20, Ankara summoned Sweden’s ambassador and informed him of its condemnation in the strongest terms.
This is the second time in a few days that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara. The first took place after a video clip was broadcast last week showing a hanged doll in the image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
