Turkish Foreign Minister condemns insult to Erdogan in Stockholm

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu condemned today, Friday, the protest organized by a Kurdish group in the Swedish capital two days ago, in which a doll of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared hanging from her feet, describing the incident as a "racist" act and a "hate crime."

Davutoglu said in a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, that the PKK is trying to: "prevent Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)" and that Sweden must fight it.

Meanwhile, the visit to Ankara by Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlin was canceled due to the "terrorist act" in Stockholm, the Turkish Parliament announced on its website, in reference to the protest.

Swedish leaders condemned the incident.

"I understand that there is a sharp reaction from the Turkish side to what happened in Stockholm, and I felt deep discomfort," Norlin told Swedish television station SVT today, Friday, noting that he was looking forward to visiting the Turkish Parliament, and that he would now communicate via Phone with his Turkish counterpart instead.

He described Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, speaking to the Swedish television station "TV4", as a "very serious" incident aimed at sabotaging Sweden's bid to join NATO.

He added that it was too early to say whether the whole matter would affect the application process for NATO membership.

Prosecutors in the Turkish capital, Ankara, launched an investigation earlier today, Friday, regarding the video clip in which the doll appeared in the form of Erdogan, after Erdogan's lawyers filed a criminal complaint in Turkey against the protesters in Stockholm.

This comes hours after Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of the video clip.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström condemned the incident via Twitter.

Turkey stated that Sweden must take strict measures against terrorism if it wants to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The PKK, which has been fighting for self-rule since the 1980s, is considered a "terrorist" group in the European Union and the United States.

Erdogan has publicly criticized the Swedish authorities for allowing alleged supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to hold rallies in Stockholm freely.

Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said in a statement on Twitter: "We say once again clearly that it is not possible for (Sweden) to join NATO unless the activities of terrorist organizations end."

Sweden and Finland pledged last year to strengthen the fight against terrorism during talks on their accession to NATO.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson expressed his conviction that Turkey will agree to Sweden's accession to NATO, and said last Sunday that his country is unable to meet all the demands made by Turkey to join NATO and does not intend to do so.

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