The statement that draws the attention of the French press: Did Russia prevent Sweden from joining NATO?

Discussions continue over provocations to burn the Holy Quran by far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, who has Swedish and Danish citizenship.

Paludan’s burning of the Holy Quran near the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital Stockholm in January brought NATO talks between Turkey and Sweden to a halt. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “Sweden will be surprised when we give a different message on Finland. Did they end Islam by burning our Quran? They just showed how bad their cibility was,” he said.

While Turkey approved Finland’s NATO membership last week, it is unlikely that Sweden will become a member of the military alliance in the near future.

‘THE MOMENT IS ATTRACTIVE’

The accusation that Russia played a role in the crisis was recently on the French agenda. The France24 channel published an article titled “Did Russia’s participation in the burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy derail Sweden’s membership in NATO?”

Paludan’s burning of the Holy Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm sparked a crisis between Turkey and Sweden.

In Louise Nordstorm’s article, regarding the Quran’s provocation, “The timing couldn’t have been worse. Turkey had already threatened to thwart Sweden’s NATO offer. “Some reports draw attention to the suspicion that there are people associated with Russia among the organizers of the protest against the burning of the Koran in Russia.”

Noting that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the provocations against Turkey as “an attempt to sabotage Sweden’s application for NATO”, France24 recalled that former Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb immediately blamed Russia. Stubb tweeted: “This shouldn’t come as a surprise. It seems that Russia was behind the burning of the Koran in Sweden. This is an example of a rogue state’s hybrid warfare. “In today’s world, anything can be a weapon,” he said.

‘The idea to burn the Quran came from people associated with RUSSIA’

Noting that Finland’s current foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said possible Russian links in the provocation were being investigated, French television said Haavisto claimed there were signs Russia played a role in the crisis. The story also noted that Swedish far-right Chang Frick, who gave Paludan the idea to burn the Koran, was a frequent guest in the Russian media, and that the different names behind the incident had ties to Russia.

In addition, a study conducted in Sweden revealed that Paludan was in contact with several people from Russia and the Russian Wagner mercenary group. Tony Ingesson, an intelligence analyst at Lund University, said the crisis is in the interest of Russia, which is strongly opposed to NATO enlargement, and that the Russian link in the provocation is a theory to consider.