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Swedish P.M. meets with Muslim ambassadors

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt discussed a newspaper’s caricature of the Prophet Mohammed with 20 ambassadors from Muslim countries Friday.

Reinfeldt said after the meeting that he explained to the ambassadors that the Swedish government doesn't tell newspapers what to publish, The Local reported. He also said that the ambassadors didn't present him with a list of demands.

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The Nerikes Allehanda, a local newspaper in a town west of Stockholm, published the caricature to accompany a story about the artist, Lars Vilks, being unable to find a gallery to show his work.

"We reject all forms of violence, psychological as well as physical," Hassan Ghashghavi, the Iranian ambassador, told the newspaper TT after the meeting. "Diplomacy needs to be employed for issues such as this. It is my view that the Swedish government has handled this situation well. Causing offense does not belong to the concept of freedom of speech."

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