Finland: Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto suggested Russia may have been involved in the public burning of Qurans in Stockholm, Sweden, last week. He speculated that the stunt may have been planned to sabotage the country's attempt to join NATO.
Rasmus Paludan, an anti-Islam activist and head of the small Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned a Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on 21 January.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Sweden could no longer count on Turkey's support for its membership in the US-led military alliance. Ankara strongly condemned the action.
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Paludan set fire to copies of the Quran in front of a mosque, the Turkish embassy and the Russian consulate in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday.
Haavisto suggested Russia may have been involved in the book burning while speaking to Finnish television station Yell on Saturday.
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This matter is being looked into. According to Havisto, several connections have been found within the activist's network. "I can't say for sure, but ... however, a strategy has been presented to us to act in order to do the most damage to the NATO membership bid.
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