Turkey may only approve Finnish NATO bid to purposefully shock Sweden

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jan 22:51

Turkey's refusal to back Stockholm's accession has sparked a wave of anti-Turkish, anti-Muslim hate in Sweden.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, in Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 8, 2022 (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Ankara may decide to make a "different" decision on Finland's bid for NATO membership that would inevitably "shock" Sweden.

"If necessary, we may deliver a different message [answer] on Finnish membership. Sweden will be shocked when we give a different message on Finland," Erdogan said at a meeting with young people in the city of Bilecik.

Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Sweden and Finland both submitted applications to join NATO last year. However, their bids for accession require the unanimous approval of all 30 NATO member states to be considered. Turkey is one of the two remaining countries to have not approved the applications, and they're trying to draw as many concessions as possible from the Scandinavian countries in exchange for approval on their ascension into NATO.

Read more: Turkey summons Danish ambassador

Turkey's refusal to back Stockholm's accession has sparked a wave of anti-Turkish, anti-Muslim hate in Sweden.

Turkey has also been outraged by the recent burning of a copy of the Quran in Copenhagen by the same far-right extremist, Rasmus Paludan, who burnt a copy in Stockholm earlier this month.

Paludan seems to have inspired a trend of Quran desecration. Three days ago a Dutch extremist ripped the holy book in the Hague.

On Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for nationals traveling to the US and Europe, a move is seen as retaliation in light of similar warnings issued by Western powers on Turkey.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkish travelers are advised to travel to the US and Europe at their own risk against "dangerous levels of religious intolerance and hatred in Europe".

"There have recently been verbal and physical attacks against foreigners and acts of racism committed throughout the United States," a separate statement reads.