Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday denounced a protest by Kurds in central Stockholm where an effigy of Turkey's president was hung from a lamppost as an act of sabotage against Sweden's bid to join NATO. The protest outside City Hall on Wednesday drew an angry backlash from Turkey, a NATO member which already had held off approving Sweden's application to become part of the Western military alliance until the government in Stockholm satisfies its demands.
The speaker of Turkey's parliament, Mustafa Sentop, cancelled a visit by Andreas Norlen, the speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, that was scheduled for Monday, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkish lawmakers need to ratify Sweden's NATO application for the Nordic nation to become a member. Turkey has made its approval conditional on Stockholm cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers a threat to national security.