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Turkey to oppose Swedish-Finnish NATO membership bid until demands met

Following the incident, the process of considering Sweden’s bid for NATO’s membership has been suspended

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

© AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

BUDAPEST, January 31. /TASS/. Turkey will not agree to admit Sweden or Finland to NATO until they satisfy Ankara’s requirements, as stipulated in the trilateral memorandum, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

"We cannot say ‘yes’ to their membership in NATO until our demands are met. In the current environment, the Parliament will not ratify this protocol. NATO rests on the idea of the security of its member countries. Candidate nations must take into account Ankara’s position in this sphere," he stressed.

Earlier, a major row erupted between Turkey and Sweden over the burning of the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. On January 21, the leader of the right-wing extremist Hard Line party, Rasmus Paludan, publicly burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy. In his speech, he criticized Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and showed a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. Erdogan said that after this and other anti-Turkish demonstrations in Stockholm, Sweden should not expect Ankara to support its application to join NATO. The Turkish foreign and defense ministers made similar statements.

Following the incident, the process of considering Sweden’s bid for NATO’s membership has been suspended. The approval of the Turkish parliament is needed for the two countries’ admission to NATO.

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NATO Turkey Finland Sweden

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