Biden to host Swedish PM for talks on NATO amid Quran burning scandal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Joe Biden will host the Swedish prime minister this week with talks set to focus on Stockholm’s NATO accession, the White House said on Saturday, amid backlash following its approval of a protest involving the burning of the Quran. 

Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will meet at the White House on Wednesday, the statement said, to discuss the war in Ukraine and Sweden’s ongoing bid to join NATO. 

“President Biden and Prime Minister Kristersson will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said. 

The visit comes as Sweden is hopeful to join NATO before the summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius next week, as its bid continues to be blocked by Turkey’s disapproval. Sweden requested to join the military alliance in May 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but approval by all 31 member states is required. 

However, the scandal which has been sparked by a Quran burning incident hinders Sweden’s prospects further. Earlier this week, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the Nordic country for allowing a protest during which Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee, stomped on and burnt the Islamic holy book's pages outside a Stockholm mosque.

Swedish authorities had authorized the protest under the principles of freedom of expression. 

Newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan slammed the protest in a tweet, “It is unacceptable to allow these Islamophobic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

“To overlook such abominable action means being a part of the crime,” he added.

Fidan is scheduled to meet with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Brussels on Thursday. 

Turkey Ratified Finland’s bid in April, while continuing to block Sweden’s, remaining firm on its position that Stockholm has not taken steps to address Turkish “terror” concerns. 

While Sweden has tried to address the security concerns with law amendments, the Quran burning incident presents a new impediment. 

“We will eventually teach Western bastions of arrogance that insulting Muslims is not freedom of thought,” Erdogan on Thursday told the members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a video message.

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday called the Quran burning incident “offensive” but not illegal, “I understand the emotion and the depth of feeling this causes and actions taken that are offensive and objectionable are not necessarily illegal in sovereign legal systems,” Stoltenberg said.

“What is important for me is that we have to make progress on finalizing the accession of Sweden into the Alliance,” he added.