Sweden–Turkey relations
Swedish–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Sweden and Turkey. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Union for the Mediterranean. Sweden has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate–general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Stockholm. History. At the beginning of 18th Century, the two countries were allied against the Tsardom of Russia during the Great Northern War. Swedish King Charles XII, after his defeat in the Battle of Poltova , took refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the city of Bender. Charles was welcomed by Ottomans and corresponded with Gülnuş Sultan, the mother of Sultan Ahmed III, who took an interest in his cause. His expenses were covered by the Ottoman State budget, as part of the fixed assets ("Demirbaş" in Turkish), hence his nickname "Demirbaş Şarl" (Fixed Asset Charles) in Turkey. Sweden has had diplomatic relations with Turkey since the 1730s. Sweden has been present in Istanbul at the same place as today since 1757. Sweden opened an embassy in Ankara in October 1934. In October 1934, Crown Prince  Gustaf Adolf, Louise and Princess Ingrid visited Turkey. On 2 October they arrived in Istanbul where President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's salon car was waiting. The journey continued to Ankara where they were received by Atatürk, Foreign Minister Tevfik Rüştü Aras, members of the government and administration. The visit to Ankara lasted between 3 and 5 October. On 5 October a two-day visit to Bursa was made. The stay in Turkey ended with a four-day stay incognito in Istanbul, during which several receptions were held at the Swedish legation. On 10 October, the royal travelers continued with the  Svenska Orient Linien's motor ship "Vasaland", which arrived in Smyrna on the 12 October. From here, the departure took place on 15 October with the president's own train and on the 17 October arrival in Aleppo. The Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (SFII) was founded in 1962 and works to promote Swedish and Nordic research in and around Turkey, the Far East and Central Asia, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. Business Sweden has been active in Turkey since 1991 with offices in Istanbul. When Sweden took over the rotating presidency of the Presidency of the Council  of the European Union in 2009, the then Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced his support of Turkey's European Union membership. Sweden's Green Party has criticized France and Germany's opposition to Turkey's membership. In October 2021, in the wake of the appeal for the release of Turkish activist Osman Kavala signed by 10 western countries, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered his foreign minister to declare the Swedish ambassador "persona non grata", alongside the other 9 ambassadors. However, the ambassadors did not receive any formal notice to leave the country and Erdoğan eventually stepped back. Diyanet  controlled mosques in Sweden. According to Dagens Nyheter in 2017, nine mosques in Sweden have imams sent and paid for by the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). Along with their religious duties, the imams are also tasked with reporting on critics of the Turkish government. According to Dagens Nyheter, propaganda for president Erdogan is openly presented in the mosques. Armenian genocide dispute. On 12 June 2008, the Riksdag refused to refer to the 1915 events of the Armenian genocide as actual genocide. However, on 11 March 2010, the Riksdag eventually voted for a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. There  was a majority of one vote, with a total of 131 in favour, 130 against, and 88 absent. Turkey promptly recalled its ambassador to Sweden and cancelled talks that were intended to happen between the two countries on March 17, 2010. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded by issuing a statement saying "We strongly condemn this resolution, which is made for political calculations. It does not correspond to the close friendship of our two nations". Turkey's ambassador to Sweden Zergun Koruturk said on "Aktuellt" that there would be "drastic effects" of a long-term nature on relations between  the two countries, saying "I am very disappointed. Unfortunately, parliamentarians were thinking that they were rather historians than parliamentarians, and it's very, very unfortunate". Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt blogged from Copenhagen that he "regretted" the outcome of the vote.