...in a further twist to this diplomatic crisis that swings from the bad to the farcical, Bildt - in Kabul for talks with international representatives and Afghan officials - has flatly denied that he and Frattini even discussed Sweden's standoff with Israel, according to the Swedish news agency TT.

Through the foreign ministry's head of communications, Cecilia Julin, Bildt denied that he and Frattini had discussed the disagreement between Sweden and Israel over the Aftonbladet article, or that they had discussed a possible resolution by the Council of Ministers.

"From the Swedish side we have no plans to handle this question through the informal foreign ministers' meeting in Stockholm," said Julin. She also conveyed that Bildt had suggested that the proposal must have arisen through an "Italian misunderstanding."...

The leaders of the U.S. Helsinki Commission urged European foreign ministers to unequivocally denounce an anti-Semitic article in a Swedish newspaper.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and co-chair Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) on Monday called on European leaders to condemn an article in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that accused Israeli soldiers of harvesting the organs of Palestinian prisoners...

Now that Jerusalem has calmed down from the hysteria surrounding the organ theft article that appeared in the newspaper Aftonbladet, the Swedes have shifted from attacking Israel to self-criticism.

Swedish Chancellor of Justice Goran Lambertz published an article stating that that while criticizing the article's publication does contravene the law, the government may still criticize its contents.

The government can go further in criticizing the article without violating the Constitution, said Lambertz.

For example, one of the ministers could have said: "We have no reason to believe these allegations."

Lambertz said the decision not to react to the report stemmed from political considerations, not legal constraints.

Thorbjorn Larsson, editor in chief of Dagens Nyheter, Sweden's most respected newspaper, has said the crisis may have been inevitable, but that Foreign Minister Carl Bildt should have expressed a clearer position from its offset.

Larsson also believes ministers may react to articles clearly, without infringing on the right to free speech.

The editor also noted that Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated in 1968, did not hesitate to express his opinion about a controversial report accusing his justice minister of tax violations.

Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gave a ministry delegation permission to visit Sweden.