Turkey Postpones Trilateral Talks With Finland And Sweden Following Protests And Burning Of Korans In Stockholm

Illustration (Wikimedia Commons/Randam)

JAKARTA - Turkey has indefinitely canceled a trilateral mechanism meeting with Sweden and Finland scheduled for February, after a weekend of protests in Stockholm that drew condemnation from Ankara, state broadcaster TRT reported on Tuesday.

Quoting diplomatic sources, TRT said the meeting was scheduled to take place next month in Brussels, Belgium. However, it was postponed at Turkey's request.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said earlier this month that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would also attend, citing Reuters January 25.

Meanwhile, a source in the Turkish Presidency said, Turkey did not cancel the meeting, but postponed it. The source did not specify when the meeting was adjourned.

The presidency declined to comment on the delay.

Earlier, President Erdoğan said Sweden should not expect Turkey's support for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership, after protests in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm over the weekend, including the burning of copies of the Koran.

It is known, Sweden and Finland signed up to join NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their accession requires the approval of all members of the 30-nation alliance. So far, only Turkey and Hungary have yet to give official approval.