Türkiye introduced on Saturday that it canceled a deliberate go to by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson on Jan. 27 in response to Stockholm’s permission for Quran burning.
Defence Minister Hulusi Akar stated that Türkiye canceled the deliberate go to from Minister Johnson as a result of “it holds no meaning at the moment.”
“We regretfully witnessed that no measures were taken as a result of these vile and heinous acts against Türkiye and our President (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan). Therefore, at this point, the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Jonson to Türkiye on Jan. 27 has become meaningless. So we canceled the visit,” Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar informed reporters on Friday after a NATO assembly at Ramstein airbase in Germany.
The transfer introduced by Akar got here after Rasmus Paludan, chief of the Danish far-right get together Stram Kurs (Hard Line), was given permission to burn the Quran on Saturday outdoors the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom stated he was involved that the demonstration dangers additional delaying Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid. However, he added that it might be “very inappropriate” for him to name for an individual to not be allowed to hold out an indication.
Noting that he conveyed his reactions on this situation to Johnson, on the sidelines of assembly in Germany, Akar stated it was unacceptable to stay silent, including: “It was necessary to take action and take precautions.”
Stressing Türkiye’s help for NATO’s open door coverage, Akar added: “All we want is the fulfillment of the commitments in this memorandum. We expect Sweden and Finland to do their part, their homework.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Swedish Ambassador to Ankara Staffan Herrstrom, who was informed that Türkiye “strongly condemns this provocative act, which is clearly a hate crime, that Sweden’s attitude is unacceptable, that Ankara expects the act not to be allowed, and insults to sacred values cannot be defended under the guise of democratic rights.”
Türkiye warned Sweden that permitting propaganda actions that PKK-affiliated circles had been making ready to hold out in Stockholm on Saturday was a “clear violation” of the tripartite deal, in accordance with the Turkish diplomatic sources.
Last week, Türkiye known as on Sweden to take steps in opposition to terror teams after an indication in Stockholm, the place supporters of the PKK terrorist group hung in effigy by the toes a determine of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after which uploaded footage of the provocation together with threats in opposition to Türkiye and Erdogan.
Sweden and Finland formally utilized to hitch NATO final May, abandoning many years of navy non-alignment, a choice spurred by Russia’s conflict on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.
But Türkiye-a NATO member for greater than 70 years-voiced objections, accusing the 2 nations of tolerating and even supporting terror teams, together with the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Last June, Türkiye and the 2 Nordic nations signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to handle Ankara’s respectable safety considerations, paving the best way for his or her eventual membership within the alliance.
F-16 fighter jets talks with US
Akar additionally stated that he held a bilateral assembly with US Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin on the sidelines of the assembly in Germany, including: “During the meeting, we once again saw the strong support of the US Department of Defense for Türkiye on this issue.”
Ankara requested F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits in October 2021. The $6-billion deal would come with the sale of 40 jets, in addition to modernization kits for 79 warplanes that the Turkish Air Force already has in its stock.
The US State Department final week informally notified Congress of the potential sale.
“It’s a process. It’s not something that can be completed in a jiffy. We consider the process to be positive so far,” Akar stated.
Akar famous that the fighter jets would strengthen not solely Türkiye, but additionally NATO, including {that a} “strong Türkiye means strong armed forces, strong NATO, strong alliance. We expect everyone to understand this.”
Ukraine assembly in Germany
During the assembly Akar stated: “We once again expressed that we respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, and that we do not recognize the annexation of its lands.”
Türkiye expressed on the assembly that the tragedy in Ukraine wanted to finish with no additional lack of life, and that options must be discovered by means of peaceable means and strategies, he added.
Akar underlined that up to now, 18 million tons of Ukrainian grain had been carried by way of the Black Sea grain hall that Türkiye helped dealer final yr in a bid to avert a possible meals disaster amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“NATO Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, also confirmed the importance of our actions within the framework of NATO,” Akar stated.
On the sidelines of the assembly at Ramstein base, Akar held separate bilateral conferences with British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blasczczak, and Kajsa Ollongren, minister of protection of the Netherlands.
He additionally met with Guido Crosetto, who was appointed Italy’s minister of protection, and conveyed his needs for fulfillment.
The minister additionally held conferences with Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola, Romania’s Angel Tilvar, and Ukraine’s Oleksii Reznikov.
