Per Reuters

The US says that Finland and Sweden are now ready to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance even after Turkey announced that it would not support the decision. The approval comes a year after both countries filed to join following the invasion of Ukraine.

In an unfortunate event for Turkey, protests happened near its embassy in Stockholm, which included an action that offended the country. President Tayyip Erdogan shared how a copy of the Koran was burned during the protests.

Ned Price, State Department spokesperson, explained that burning books is regarded as deeply disrespectful. Price noted that the act, although legal in nature, was still offensive.

Price: "We have a saying in this country - something can be lawful but awful. I think in this case, what we've seen in the context of Sweden falls into that category,"

The President of Turkey did not take this action lightly and noted that due to this action, they would no longer be supporting Sweden in their attempts to join NATO. Erdogan gave a statement against how the country was protecting those that committed these offensive acts toward Islam.

Erdogan: "Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership... If you love members of terrorist organisations and enemies of Islam so much and protect them, then we advise you to seek their support for your countries' security,"

Despite this statement, Erdogan said that he would respect Turkey's existing agreement with Sweden and Finland regarding their NATO membership. The country has also noted that Sweden should first "take a clear stance" regarding terrorists, especially the Kurdish militants.

The Kurdish militants are a group that was blamed for a coup attempt that happened in Turkey in 2016. For Sweden and Finland to join NATO, all 30 members of the groups should give their approval.

In other news, the US is extending its efforts to Ukraine by offering the country's troops missile training in the US. Even before this, the Kremlin had already said that the US was "fighting an indirect war with Russia."

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Reuters