NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized the position of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said on Monday, January 23, that Sweden should not count on Ankara's support for joining the North Atlantic Alliance after Saturday's Quran-burning action near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.

In an interview with Welt TV, Stoltenberg noted that freedom of expression and freedom of opinion are valuable assets in Sweden as well as in other NATO countries.

A right-wing extremist demonstration in Stockholm accompanied by the burning of a Quran caused a storm of indignation in the Islamic world and further strained relations between Sweden and Turkey. Because Swedish authorities authorized Saturday's rally, Turkey cancelled a planned visit to Ankara by Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson on Jan. 27.

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet agreed to Sweden's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. Swedish and Finnish authorities applied to join NATO amid Russia's unleashed war in Ukraine.