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Türkiye's response to Finland's NATO bid may 'shock' Sweden: Erdogan

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Türkiye's attitude towards Finland joining NATO may be more positive than towards Sweden.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gathers with youth as he attends a programme in Türkiye's Bilecik on January 29, 2023.

Referring to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO being questioned by Türkiye, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara may respond "differently" to Helsinki which would "shock" Stockholm.

"We may respond differently to Finland if necessary. Sweden would be shocked when we respond differently to Finland. But Finland should not make the same mistake," Erdogan said at a meeting with the youth in the country's Bilecik province.

Ankara gave a list of 120 people to Sweden for extradition to Türkiye, Erdogan said, adding: "You need to extradite these terrorists so that you can enter NATO."

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's military action against Ukraine, which started on February 24, 2022.

But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

In the memorandum, Sweden and Finland agreed not to provide support to the PKK/YPG/PYD and FETO, to prevent all activities of the terror groups, the extradition of terror suspects, to introduce new legislation to punish terrorist crimes, and not to implement national arms embargoes among the three countries.

'Quran burning shows how ignoble they are'

On the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, Erdogan said: "Did they wipe out Islam by burning our Quran? They just showed how ignoble they are. Denmark did the same."

On Friday, Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) Party, burned a copy of the Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark.

The anti-Muslim act came days after the far-right leader burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden, during a police-approved protest.

He also announced he would burn the holy book of the Muslims every Friday until Sweden is included in the NATO alliance.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today.
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) January 21, 2023

Global condemnations have poured in with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemning Paludan's actions as "deeply disrespectful."

The desecration of the Quran prompted strong protests in the Muslim world, with Türkiye calling Paludan an "Islam-hating charlatan" and strongly condemned the permission given by the authorities for the provocative act which it said, "clearly constitutes a hate crime."