Reinfeldt made sure that no journalists attended that meeting.Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met on Friday with ambassadors from twenty Muslim countries for talks surrounding the publication in a Swedish newspaper of a caricature of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The envoys are not reported to have called for Sweden to change its laws to protect against the desecration of the Muslim prophet. After a meeting with his Muslim colleagues on Thursday, the Egyptian ambassador indicated that the group wanted to see "action, not just nice words."
But Reinfeldt said that the ambassadors did not present a list of demands at government offices in Rosenbad. "There were no demands in that sense. We had a very positive dialogue," said Reinfeldt.
"Nothing on paper, anyway. Just a little chat with the usual representitives of dictatorships, autocracies, and terrorist states. Please, no questions concerning the state of current Swedish-totalitarian arms deals negotiations."
The ambassadors agreed earlier in the week to condemn the publication, which they described as a "humiliating action", and to hand over a letter to the government pointing out the importance of reaching a long-term solution. "We reject all forms of violence, psychological as well as physical," Iran's ambassador told TT after the meeting.
As he carefully daubed his blood-encrusted paws with a silk handkerchief.
"Diplomacy needs to be employed for issues such as this. It is my view that the Swedish government has handled this situation well. Causing offence does not belong to the concept of freedom of speech," he added.
Reinfeldt said that he had "explained how Swedish society works and that we don't have elected representatives making editorial decisions", adding that "this is an open country, a tolerant country".
The Prime Minister also noted that the ambassadors had thanked him for calling the meeting. "We agreed that the best way to deal with this issue is through dialogue. We pointed to the importance of the fact that we are using dialogue as a starting point to quell tensions," said Reinfeldt.
And there's no need to guess where we'll find the "ending point".
Lars Vilks' caricature was published on August 18th in local newspaper Nerikes Allehanda. Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and the 57-nation Orgaization of the Islamic Conference have all lodged official protests and demanded punitive action.
The sides are lining up nicely.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is advising Swedish citizens to exercise caution when travelling to the Middle East. "Swedes are advised to take care and stay up to date with media reports," said spokeswoman Anna Björkander.
What? The Ministry for Foreign Affairs didn't get the memo from the Persian ambassador?