Turkey postpones NATO talks on Sweden, Finland bids
Ankara has thrown its hands up in response to Stockholm's permission for a Quran-burning protest as Helsinki hints that Finland could join the alliance without Sweden.
Turkey postponed three-way NATO talks between Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki Tuesday in response to a Quran-burning protest that took place in Sweden on Saturday.
Turkey's public broadcaster TRT reported the news, citing Turkish Foreign Ministry sources. No date has been set for the meeting, which was set to be held in February in Brussels.
The move came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Sweden had no longer Ankara’s support in its bid to join NATO in retaliation to Sweden's granting permission to a Quran-burning protest.
“Those who encourage or excuse this perversion have no doubt considered its consequences as well. ... Sorry, but you won’t get any support from us about NATO,” Erdogan told the cabinet members Monday in a rare outburst on foreign policy since he kicked off his election campaign for the polls expected to be held on May 14.
