Turkey To Block Sweden From NATO Over Quran Burning

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Wednesday that Turkey won’t allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance.

Turkey, which has been holding off approving Sweden and Finland’s membership in the Western military alliance, has been infuriated by a series of demonstrations in Stockholm by activists who have burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy and hanged an effigy of Erdogan.

It has indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed the two Nordic countries’ entry into NATO.

“Sweden, don’t even bother! As long as you allow my holy book, the Quran, to be burned and torn, and you do so together with your security forces, we will not say ‘yes’ to your entry into NATO,” Erdogan said in a speech.

Swedish government officials have distanced themselves from the protests.

A far-right anti-Islam activist burned copies of the Quran in Stockholm, and Copenhagen, Denmark.