Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Sweden that it should not expect Turkey's backing to join the NATO following the burning of Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm Saturday.
"Those who allow such disgraceful acts in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm can't expect good news from us on NATO membership," Erdogan said on Monday at a press conference after the cabinet meeting.
No individual has the freedom to insult the faith of Muslims or other religions, he was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
Saturday's burning of a copy of Holy Quran by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line, came at a time when Sweden, along with Finland, was seeking Turkey's backing to join NATO.
The bid has been blocked by the Turkish government, which accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting anti-Turkey groups.
Turkey accuses the Scandinavian countries of housing terror organisations, such as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). As a NATO member, Turkey can veto a country's admission to the military alliance.
The Nordic states have pledged to support Turkey's fight against terrorism and agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests for "terror" suspects. But the Turkish parliament has not ratified their membership yet.
The desecration of the Holy book of Muslims was held with the permission of Swedish authorities.
Besides Turkey, protest against the "vile act" is being held in various parts of world, mainly in the Muslim countries.
Leading the protest of the Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia demanded from the Swedish authorities to take action against the perpetrators.
The 57-member OIC along with Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Pakistan all condemned the incident in one voice calling it an act of open provocation and incitement.
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