'Different action' urged for Sweden to join NATO

BUDAPEST — Sweden's government should "act differently "if it wants to clinch Turkish support for its application to join NATO, Hungary's foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that a recent Quran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm was "unacceptable".

Peter Szijjarto made the remark at a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Both diplomats addressed the Jan 21 anti-Turkish protest that increased tensions between Ankara and Stockholm, as Sweden seeks Turkiye's approval to join the military alliance.

"As a Christian and as a Catholic, I must say that burning of a holy book of another religion is an unacceptable act," Szijjarto said. He also criticized a statement by Sweden's prime minister, who said that while the burning of the Quran was inappropriate and "deeply disrespectful", it fell under Swedish freedom of speech protections.

"Stating that the burning of a sacred book is part of freedom of speech is just plain stupidity," Szijjarto said, adding that "perhaps they (Sweden) should act differently than that" if they want to secure Ankara's backing.

The meeting in Budapest came as Turkiye and Hungary remain the only two NATO members that have not approved bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. The northern European neighbors — one of which, Finland, shares a border with Russia — dropped their long-standing military neutrality and sought NATO membership in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Necessary vote

A unanimous vote of all 30 NATO members is necessary for admitting new countries.

Cavusoglu said Turkiye shares Hungary's wish for NATO enlargement, but that it was now "impossible for us to confirm (Sweden's) accession" into the alliance. He called the Quran-burning protest a "provocation which will take us nowhere "and "can only lead to chaos".

Hungary's government was expected to vote on accepting Sweden and Finland into NATO by the end of last year. The issue will be on the Hungarian parliament's agenda during its first session of the year this month, Szijjarto said.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his stance that Turkiye will not support Sweden's application to join NATO as long as it continues to allow Quran-burning protests, adding that his country looks positively on Finland's application for membership of the military alliance.

"Sweden! Don't even bother to try," Erdogan told the parliament. "Our view on Finland is positive, but not for Sweden."

Agencies - Xinhua