Turkey appears to have thrown cold water on a joint bid by Sweden and Finland to become members of the Western NATO alliance.
On Jan. 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden could “no longer expect” Turkish support for its NATO accession efforts.
As a NATO member, Turkey wields veto power over bids by new countries to join the Western-led bloc.
Erdogan’s remarks came a day after activists staged a contentious rally outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm. At the event, a copy of the Koran was set alight by Rasmus Paludan, a right-wing politician known for courting controversy.
Leader of Danish political party Stram Kurs, Rasmus Paludan, stands outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 21, 2023. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency via AP)
Turkey’s foreign ministry called the move an “act of provocation” and canceled a planned visit to Ankara by Sweden’s defense minister….