
On Saturday afternoon as part of protests outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Rasmus Paludan of the far-right party Stram Kurs burned a copy of the Koran.
This movement caused the anger of Turkey, which condemned the burning of the Koran, describing it as a "hate crime".
" To allow this anti-Islamic act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of 'freedom of expression' is completely unacceptable." This is a pure hate crime. We call on the Swedish authorities to take the necessary measures against the perpetrators of this hate crime, " the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
" Islamophobic provocations are terrible. Sweden has a lot of freedom of expression, but that does not mean that the Swedish government, or I, support the views expressed ," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a tweet.
For his part, Erdogan's ally, Devlet Bakhceli, said that the parliament will not ratify Sweden's membership in NATO "under these conditions".
Earlier today, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said next week's planned visit by his Swedish counterpart to Ankara was canceled after Swedish authorities gave permission for protest rallies in Stockholm.