Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for NATO membership after Stockholm protest – Erdogan

ANKARA (Reuters) – Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for its NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend including the burning of a copy of the Koran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

“Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership,” Erdogan said in a speech after a cabinet meeting.

Protests in Stockholm on Saturday against Turkey and against Sweden’s bid to join NATO, during which a copy of the Koran was burned, have heightened tensions with Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the military alliance.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Hugh Lawson)