ANKARA, July 3. /TASS/. Turkey’s position regarding the necessity for Sweden to implement fulfill Ankara’s requirements for accession to NATO has not changed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

"We gave a clear reaction to the events in Stockholm [the burning of Quran - TASS]. Everyone must understand that our friendship could not be won while supporting terrorists, while giving them central streets and avenues. Our position, our expectations and the promises given to us are well known. We stand on the same principles as one year ago," Erdogan said, according to the local TV.

The Turkish leader noted that the burning of the Quran in Stockholm on June 28, the first day of the holiday of Eid al-Adha is a "hate crime, fueled by Islamophobia."

"It is even worse when such things happen under protection of the police. Just like there can be no freedom of starting a fire in a church, a synagogue or another place of religion, there can be no freedom to burn the Quran. And we cannot view this stunt in Stockholm as a single case. It is a new display of sickness, which is hostility to the Muslims and Islam, which spreads across the West like a tumor," Erdogan said.

On June 28 last year, Erdogan, his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and then-Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson held negotiations with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The sides signed a memorandum, which allows Sweden and Finland to join NATO. On March 31, the Turkish parliament approved the protocol on Finland’s accession, who became a NATO member on April 4. At the same time, it did not approve the protocol on Sweden’s accession, demanding that Stockholm fulfills all requirements of the Madrid Memorandum on combating terrorism.

Ankara fiercely criticized Stockholm for the rallies of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey, and for the protests that involve burning of the Quran.