Speaking in Parliament at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party faction that he heads, Erdogan assured that the issue of Finland’s admission into the military bloc could be resolved positively.

Sweden should not waste time, for as long as it allows our holy scripture, the Koran, to be burned, torn, and in this context its law enforcers become inactive, we will not say yes to its entry into NATO, the Turkish leader stressed.

At the same time, we have a positive attitude towards Finland in this matter, Erdogan said.

For his part, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pointed out that his country has not yet seen specific steps by the Nordic countries to approve their applications to join the alliance, and this mainly affects the kingdom.

According to him, there is a three-country protocol (Türkiye, Finland and Sweden) that was signed in June 2022 in Madrid, and Ankara is awaiting the fulfillment of the obligations enshrined therein.

However, Cavusoglu acknowledged that Türkiye has no information about the involvement of any specific country in actions in Europe, particularly in Sweden, to desecrate the Koran.

The purpose of the provocateurs was to prevent Sweden from joining the North Atlantic alliance, the Turkish minister said.

Türkiye-Sweden relations were affected after the burning of the Koran at the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on January 21.

Ankara said it would not approve Stockholm’s application to join NATO until Sweden fulfills its obligations under the signed memorandum on the fight against terrorism.

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