Turkish Embassy in Stockholm

Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Bucharest, Romania, November 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/Robert Ghement

"A time-out is needed before we return to the three-way talks and see where we are when the dust has settled after the current situation, so no conclusions should be drawn yet," Haavisto told Reuters.

Türkiye's president cast serious doubt on NATO's expansion on Jan. 23 after warning Sweden not to expect support for its bid for membership into the military alliance following the provocative Quran burning incident. 

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.

Türkiye's top religious official will send letters to many countries around the world over Sweden's permission for a planned burning of the Quran, Islam's holy book, near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

Protesters in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul on Sunday chanted against Sweden and burned Swedish flags and pictures of the far-right Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan.

Paludan sparked anger in Turkey by publicly burning the Koran in front of supporters of his far-right Danish political party, Hard Line. He also has Swedish citizenship.

Türkiye has strongly slammed Sweden for allowing anti-Islam and anti-Türkiye protests near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm and has canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's next week visit to Türkiye during which the Scandinavian country's NATO application was planned to be discussed.

Türkiye on Jan. 20 summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara over Sweden's permission for a planned burning of the Quran, Islam's holy book, near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

Turkish foreign ministry officials told the Swedish ambassador, "we condemn this provocative action which is clearly a hate crime - in strongest terms."