AnkaraTurkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on its NATO bid after a copy of the Koran was burned in Sweden, state-run TRT network reported. The report, citing unnamed Turkish diplomatic sources, said the meeting was due to take place in February.
The decision came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Sweden he does not expect Turkey to support its NATO bid, as Rasmus Paludan, head of Denmark’s far-right political party Hard Line, said on Saturday. A copy of the Quran was burnt. Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join NATO in May 2022, which NATO member Turkey initially objected to, citing its support for anti-Turkish Kurdish organizations and political dissidents, Xinhua news agency reported. Had expressed A month later, Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) ahead of the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain.
In the memorandum of understanding, Ankara agreed to lift its veto on NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, which in turn agreed to support Turkey’s fight against terrorism and to “promptly and completely address pending deportation or extradition requests of terrorist suspects”. promised to do Turkey’s parliament has so far not ratified the Nordic countries’ NATO bids, saying they have not yet met Turkey’s requests.