Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out approving Sweden’s membership in NATO as long as Swedish authorities allow the burning of the Quran on their streets. “We will not say yes to [Sweden’s] entry into NATO as long as you allow our holy book, the Quran, to be burned, torn apart, and to be done with [the approval of] your security personnel,” he said Wednesday, reported Anadolu. “We closely follow developments regarding NATO’s enlargement process. Our view on Finland is positive, but not on Sweden.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, during a visit to Tallinn, Estonia, the same day, said that “despite the political will that the new Swedish government has expressed during our meetings, we have not seen any concrete steps” towards implementation of the tripartite memorandum that the three countries signed in Madrid, last summer. Reiterating Ankara’s commitment to NATO enlargement, Cavusoglu cautioned that “as allies and friends, we should understand each other’s legitimate security concerns, not just one side’s concerns.”
