Sweden’s Nato bid at risk after Koran burning

TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday warned Sweden that it should not expect his backing to join Nato following the burning of the Koran outside Ankara’s embassy in Stockholm.

Mr Erdoğan’s furious comments further distanced the prospects of Sweden and Finland joining the Western defence alliance before Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls in May.

Turkey and Hungary are the only Nato members not to have ratified the Nordic neighbours’ historic decision to break their tradition of military non-alignment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, has promised that his parliament would approve the two bids next month. But Mr Erdoğan has dug in his heels heading into a close election in which he is trying to energise his nationalist electoral base.

“Sweden should not expect support from us for Nato,” Mr Erdoğan said in his first official response to the act by an anti-islam politician during a protest on Saturday that was approved by the Swedish police despite Turkey’s objections. “It is clear that those who caused such a disgrace in front of our country’s embassy can no longer expect any benevolence from us regarding their application for Nato membership,” Mr Erdoğan said.

Sweden reacted with extreme caution to Mr Erdogan’s remarks. “I cannot comment on the statement tonight. First, I want to understand exactly what was said,” foreign minister Tobias Billstrom told Sweden’s TT news agency.

Swedish leaders condemned farright politician Rasmus Paludan’s actions but defended their country’s definition of free speech. “I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims offended by what has happened in Stockholm,” Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister, tweeted on Saturday.

Mr Erdoğan said that the burning of the Muslim holy book was a hate crime that could not be defended by free speech. “No one has the right to humiliate the saints,” he said in nationally televised remarks.