Turkey to oppose Swedish-Finnish NATO membership bid until demands met

Turkey will not agree to admit Sweden or Finland to NATO until they satisfy Ankara’s requirements, as stipulated in the trilateral memorandum, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

"We cannot say ‘yes’ to their membership in NATO until our demands are met. In the current environment, the Parliament will not ratify this protocol. NATO rests on the idea of the security of its member countries. Candidate nations must take into account Ankara’s position in this sphere," he stressed.

Earlier, a major row erupted between Turkey and Sweden over the burning of the Quran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Following the incident, the process of considering Sweden’s bid for NATO’s membership has been suspended.