Turkey hints at NATO nod for Finland

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president has suggested that his country might approve Finland’s application for NATO membership before taking any action on Sweden’s, while the Turkish government issued a travel warning for European countries because of anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia.

The travel warning published late Saturday followed demonstrations last weekend outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden, where an anti-Islam activist burned the Koran and pro-Kurdish groups protested against Turkey. The events stiffened Turkey’s refusal so far to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid.

Sweden and Finland applied jointly to become members of the military alliance, dropping their long-standing military nonalignment after Russia declared war on Ukraine. In a prerecorded video of an event released Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that Turkey might sign off on only Finland.

“If needed, we could give a different message about Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give the different message about Finland.” Erdogan said to a group of young people in Bilecik province.

Turkey has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient toward groups it deems terror organizations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. NATO requires unanimous approval of its existing members to add new ones, but Erdogan’s government has said it would only agree to admit Sweden if the country met its conditions.

In its travel warning to citizens, the Turkish foreign ministry cited an increase in anti-Turkish protests by “groups with links to terror groups,” a reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Along with Turkey, the European Union and United States also designate the PKK as a terror group.