Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said today, Tuesday, that his country should study the possibility of joining NATO without Sweden, a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out Ankara's support for Sweden's candidacy for NATO membership, linking the issue to permitting Stockholm burning the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden.

Minister Haavisto added - in televised statements - that the simultaneous accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO remains the "first option", but "we must of course assess the situation, and study whether something that happened will prevent - in the long run - Sweden from moving forward," considering at the same time that "It is too early to take a stand."

The Danish-Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Noble Qur’an last Saturday, in an incident authorized by the Swedish police, sparked massive protests in Turkey and the Islamic world.

President Erdogan said - yesterday, Monday - that Sweden can no longer count on "Turkey's support after this incident (the burning of the Qur'an)," adding - in a speech he delivered after a government meeting at the presidential complex in Ankara - "If you do not respect the religious beliefs of Turkey or Muslims, Do not expect any support from us regarding your membership in NATO.


And the incident of burning the Qur’an comes days after pro-Kurdish activists, in mid-January, hung a doll bearing Erdogan’s image from its feet in front of the Stockholm municipal building.

Finland status

In contrast to Sweden, in recent months Turkey has expressed no major objections to Finland joining NATO.

And any country submitting its candidacy for NATO membership must obtain the approval of all 30 member states, which gives any country the right to veto the candidacy request.

And in May 2022, the two Scandinavian countries submitted their candidacy simultaneously at NATO headquarters in the Belgian capital, Brussels, in a direct result of Russia's ongoing war against its neighbor Ukraine.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, the Finnish foreign minister said, "There is a need for a time-out before we return to the trilateral talks (between Finland, Sweden and Turkey), and see where we have come when the dust settles after the current situation, so no conclusions should be drawn yet."

"I think there will be a two-week pause," the minister said, referring to talks about Sweden and Finland joining NATO.

Turkey elections

Haavisto stated that he spoke - yesterday, Monday - with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, adding, "Of course, they feel pressure because of the upcoming elections, and therefore we understand the reason for the intensification of discussions with Turkey in many ways."

And the Turkish President announced - yesterday, Monday - that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on May 14, a month before the original scheduled date.