Ankara, January 21 (QNA) - Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced the cancellation of his Swedish counterpart Pal Johnson's scheduled visit to Ankara on January 27.
The cancellation of the visit comes against the backdrop of the Swedish authorities' failure to take action against the provocations of the supporters of the PKK/YPG organization and allowing them to burn a copy of the Holy Quran in front of the Turkish embassy.
The Turkish minister said that at this stage, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson's visit to Turkey on January 27 lost its importance and meaning, so it has been canceled.
The Swedish minister's visit was aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to Sweden's bid to join the NATO military alliance.
On Friday, Turkey summoned Sweden's ambassador over Sweden's permission for a planned burning of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
On June 28, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding regarding the accession of the latter two countries to NATO after the two European countries pledged to respond to Ankara's demands regarding cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
For a country to join the NATO alliance, unanimous approval of all 30 current members is required. (QNA)