According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sweden cannot count on Turkey's support for NATO membership after the Koran was burned in Stockholm.

"If you don't show respect to the Turkish Republic or the religious beliefs of Muslims, then you can't get any support from us in terms of NATO," Erdogan said in Ankara on Monday.

NATO member Turkey has been blocking the admission of Sweden and Finland to the defense alliance for months.

Turkey in particular accuses Sweden of supporting "terrorist organizations" such as the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK and is demanding the extradition of a number of people whom Ankara regards as terrorists.

All 30 NATO members have to ratify the applications for NATO membership, 28 have already done so - only Turkey and Hungary are still missing.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom did not want to comment on Erdogan's statements on Monday evening.

First he wanted to understand exactly what had been said, he told the Swedish news agency TT.

Sweden distances itself

Recently, protest actions in Sweden had once again caused trouble with Turkey.

Among other things, activists in central Stockholm hung a doll resembling Erdogan by its feet, prompting an angry reaction from Ankara.

On Saturday, a Danish-born Islamophobic politician and provocateur added fuel to the fire by burning a Koran at a police-sanctioned rally near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm on Saturday.

The action was a "shame," said Erdogan.

The Swedish government had distanced itself from this action as well as from the incident with the Erdogan doll, but referred to the freedom of expression that applies in Sweden.

"Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Twitter in response to the Koran burning.

“But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate.

The burning of books that are sacred to many is a deeply disrespectful act.”

Turkish government plans debt restructuring law

In Turkey, meanwhile, the ruling AK party is preparing a debt restructuring law.

In the future, citizens and companies should be able to pay their outstanding debts to public institutions such as tax offices, customs offices, social security institutions and municipalities in installments, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday after a cabinet meeting.

Late payment penalties for tax payments, social security debts and other liabilities were eliminated.

More details should be released by the finance ministry, Erdogan said.

Erdogan had previously announced on Monday that he would bring forward the parliamentary and presidential elections to May 14.

With his conservative Islamic party, the AKP, Erdogan may be facing the biggest election challenge in his two decades at the helm of Turkey.

Polls point to a close race.

The ruling AKP is likely to remain the strongest force in parliament.

But in terms of approval ratings, Erdogan is behind some potential opponents.