ErdoÄŸan Vows Not To Allow Sweden Into NATO After Burning Quran

President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan of Turkey reiterated his criticism of Sweden on Wednesday following the desecration of Islam's holy book – the Quran.

He vowed his country not to allow Sweden into NATO as long as it tolerated such acts. His remarks came after Danish politician Rasmus Paludan burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.

ErdoÄŸan said; "Don't even bother, Sweden! 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.”

The President also reaffirmed that their support for Finland's NATO bid was unchanged. Finnish media outlets have reported earlier that the Finnish police would not allow any public desecration of the Quran in the country, citing laws against violation of religious peace.

Sweden and Finland need the approval of fellow member Turkey to join NATO. Both countries applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

All NATO members, except Turkey and Hungary, have ratified their accession, without which both will not be accepted.