Quran Burning Sparks Diplomatic Dispute: Turkey Postpones NATO Talks with Sweden and Finland | WORLD

[AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION]

Welcome to Bryf, your go-to source for breaking news, analysis, and commentary from around the world. I'm Kyla, and today we're discussing the latest development in the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland.

Turkey has postponed a key meeting with Sweden and Finland that was intended to discuss their bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This decision comes after a far-right politician in Sweden burned a Quran, drawing condemnation from both the Turkish and Swedish governments.

The meeting, which was scheduled for February in Brussels, was supposed to be the next edition of a diplomatic platform designed last year to resolve the three countries' differences. However, Turkish officials did not give a reason for the postponement.

This is the latest setback for Sweden and Finland in a dispute that has been ongoing since last May, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan first threatened to veto the countries' membership in NATO over their alleged ties to Kurdish militant groups.

This week, Erdogan renewed his threat to block Sweden from the alliance in response to the Quran burning incident. Turkey also summoned Sweden's ambassador in Ankara to warn the Swedish government and canceled a planned visit by the Swedish defense minister to discuss the NATO accession issue.

A senior Turkish official, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, has stated that Turkey is unlikely to send the NATO matter to Parliament before Turkey's presidential election in mid-May. Western officials are prodding Turkey not to upset their plans to see Sweden and Finland in the alliance by the time NATO holds its summit in early July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has expressed confidence that Turkey will approve its NATO application, but has also warned that Ankara has come up with new extradition demands that Sweden cannot and will not meet. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has also expressed hope that Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO ahead of the Vilnius summit.

The postponement of the meeting comes after Sweden and Finland signed an agreement last June with Turkey during NATO's summit in Madrid, pledging to resolve the dispute through diplomacy, including a "joint mechanism" for security dialogue. However, the next meeting of that platform is now being postponed.

Sweden and Finland have also agreed to address Turkey's extradition requests of alleged Kurdish militants and other individuals Turkey describes as terrorist suspects. Both Sweden and NATO's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg have stated that the Swedish government has fulfilled its obligations in this regard.

That’s all for today episode! Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as tensions continue to escalate between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland. Will they be able to resolve their differences and join NATO by the time of the summit in July? Only time will tell. Be sure to tune in to Bryf for unbiased, up-to-the-minute coverage on this and other important stories from around the world. This is Kyla signing off, thanks for listening!

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