Finland can join NATO on its own, Sweden has suspended the process of joining the alliance for an "indefinite period". The reason for this decision was Turkey's reaction to the burning of the Koran by right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan and criticism of the Turkish leader. According to Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, Stockholm will try to achieve positive decisions on this issue in the near future.
Sweden has suspended its accession to NATO, Finland continues the process and, most likely, will join the alliance on its own. The Swedish government still hopes to solve the problem with Turkey quickly and join the bloc before this summer. But in Ankara they don’t think so, the recent events with the burning of the Koran and public insults of the Turkish president greatly angered Erdogan, who had already ruled out support for Sweden’s application to NATO. The Swedes think that they will still persuade the Turks.
The events of the last few weeks have temporarily put the process on hold, but of course it is still relevant (...) Of course, recent events have not made things easier, but in the end, it is the memorandum and the commitments made that should be decisive
- said the Swedish minister.
In Stockholm, they emphasize that they have almost fulfilled all the requirements of Turkey and Ankara is simply obliged to support Sweden's application, despite the scandal that has erupted, this should all happen at the summit in Vilnius, which is scheduled for July this year.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 along with Finland. As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the time, "the process will not take long." However, everything rested on Turkey, which, as it turned out, has a lot of questions for these two countries. And if the Finns somehow managed to resolve their differences with Ankara, then the Swedes not so much. And the latest antics with the burning of the Koran and insulting the Prophet Mohammed can make the process of Sweden's entry into NATO very long.