ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss with the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday the issue of possible ratification by Ankara of Sweden's application for NATO membership, a source in the presidential administration told Sputnik.
"Tomorrow there will be a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers chaired by the president. In addition to social and economic issues, Sweden's application to NATO will be discussed against the backdrop of the latest incident of Quran burning and the upcoming summit of the alliance in Vilnius from July 11-12," the source said.
Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Finland became a member of the alliance in April 2023. Sweden's application is still pending approval from Hungary and Turkey.
In January, Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far-right Danish political party Stram Kurs, burned copies of the Quran in Sweden in protest against the Turkish leadership. In response, Erdogan said that Stockholm should not count on Ankara's support for its NATO membership bid.
In late June, another Quran-burning incident took place near the main mosque in Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of islam's major holidays. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the incident was unacceptable and accused the Stockholm authorities of "complicity in a crime."
