Turkey’s president condemns Quran burning in Sweden, signals it’ll obstruct NATO membership

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned a Quran-burning protest in Sweden and signaled that it will be an obstacle to the country joining NATO. Erdogan told members of his Justice and Development Party Thursday that “those who allowed the crime” were as much to blame as those who perpetrated it. Swedish police allowed the Quran-burning outside a mosque in central Stockholm Wednesday citing freedom of speech after a previous decision to ban a similar protest was overturned by a court. Erdogan said the West should be taught that “insulting Muslims’ sacred values is not freedom of thought.” Erdogan’s remarks appear to compound Turkey’s objections to Sweden’s NATO membership.