Turkish, Swedish ministers trade swipes in tense meeting
Sweden’s foreign minister subtly criticized Turkey over its curbs on freedom of expression, after her Turkish counterpart took a swipe at Stockholm’s policies during a joint news conference that quickly turned tense
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sweden’s foreign minister on Tuesday subtly criticized Turkey over its curbs on freedom of expression, after her Turkish counterpart took a swipe at Stockholm’s policies during a joint news conference that quickly turned tense.
Standing alongside Ann Linde, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu rebuked the Swedish minister for urging Turkey to withdraw troops from Syria and among other things, accused Sweden of supporting Kurdish militants as well as remaining silent over Greece’s alleged mistreatment of migrants — allegations which Greece denies.
“I want to ask this: On whose authority are you telling Turkey to withdraw from Syria or warning Turkey?” Cavusoglu asked. “If you are so sensitive on human rights, why don’t you for once criticize Greece?”
Linde responded to Cavusoglu rebuke by saying: “I am your guest. I would not take a debate here.”
“I will just hope that everybody in Turkey will have the possibility to express their views as frank as you are doing, minister,” she said.
It was a thinly-veiled reference to Turkey’s much-criticized record on freedom of expression, including the jailing of scores of journalists and pro-Kurdish politicians.