Turkey May Assess NATO Membership Bids Of Finland, Sweden Separately - Foreign Minister

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Turkey may evaluate the NATO membership bids of Finland and Sweden separately, but the final decision will be made by Helsinki and Stockholm, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

Earlier in January, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm after receiving permission for a protest from the Swedish authorities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the demonstration and said Sweden should not count on Ankara's support for its NATO bid.

"If such a decision is made in NATO or in these countries, we can evaluate it (NATO membership application) separately. Therefore, our president Erdogan speaks about the possibility of a different assessment on the application of Finland," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho in Ankara.