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Türkiye reaffirms disapproval of Sweden NATO membership – JURIST

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Wednesday reaffirmed in a speech that his nation does not support Sweden’s application to join NATO after several public burnings of the Quran in Stockholm.During a speech to his party’s deputies in Türkiye’s Grand National Assembly, Erdoğan stated:We closely follow developments regarding NATO’s enlargement process. Sweden, do not make a pointless effort. We will not say ‘yes’ to your entry into NATO as long as you allow our holy book, the Quran, to be burned and torn apart as well as allow this to be done with your security personnel. Our view on Finland is positive, but not on Sweden.Tensions have remained high between Sweden and Türkiye since Sweden’s submitted its official application for NATO membership. Earlier this month, Erdoğan stated that Sweden and Finland must extradite 130 alleged Kurdish terrorists in order for the Turkish parliament to ratify their accession to NATO. Shortly after Erdoğan’s comments, there were public burnings of the Quran in Stockholm in front of the Turkish Embassy. The Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release in response to the burnings, stating that the demonstrations provoke “racist, xenophobic and anti-Islamic attacks which take place every day somewhere in Europe.”