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Russian embassy in Denmark condemns Quran burning near its consular department

Rasmus Paludan, who leads the far-right extremist Hard Line party, said that he planned to burn three copies of the Quran in Copenhagen on Friday

STOCKHOLM, January 27. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Denmark on Friday condemned protests that involve the burning of the Quran, one of which took place near the consular department.

"A series of sacrilegious protests involving the burning of the Quran - a holy book for Muslims - took place in Copenhagen on January 27, including in front of the consular department of the Russian embassy in Denmark. The public mockery of the feelings of believers, organized with the connivance of the Danish government, is not a manifestation of freedom of speech and democracy, but a rude and dim-witted provocation designed to incite interreligious discord and inter-civilizational conflict. Any opportunities for such antics should be completely eliminated, and their organizers should be brought to account," the embassy said in a statement on Telegram.

Rasmus Paludan, who leads the far-right extremist Hard Line party told the Aftonbladet newspaper he planned to burn three copies of the Quran in Copenhagen on Friday. One burning was planned to take place at a mosque, another near the Russian embassy and the third one near the Turkish embassy. That doesn’t require government approval in Denmark, just a 24-hour notice. He said the Quran-burning near the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen wouldn’t be the last one.

"I announce that it’s the fault of [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. Now that he doesn’t want to allow Sweden into NATO, I must teach him freedom of speech," Paludan said.

The Danish ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday over Denmark’s permission to hold the Quran-burning protest near the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen. The Turkish embassy sits next to the Russian embassy’s consular department.

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