‘Turkey a thorn in flesh of NATO’: As Erdogan fumes over Koran burning, is Sweden’s bid up in smoke?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday denounced Sweden for allowing a protest during which a man burned pages from the Koran, further clouding the Nordic nation’s chances of quickly joining NATO. Erdogan’s tough talk came one week before the top diplomats of Turkey and Sweden are due to meet in Brussels to discuss Stockholm’s NATO membership bid. Turkey and fellow NATO member Hungary are holding up ratification of the application, which has been approved by all the other members of the US-led defence alliance. For more on Sweden’s “long-and-winding road” to NATO membership, FRANCE 24 is joined by Michael Cox, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS.