ISTANBUL — (AP) — Turkey’s president has suggested his country may approve Finland’s application for membership in NATO before taking any action against Sweden’s, while the Turkish government issued a travel warning for European countries due to anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia.

The travel warning posted late Saturday followed demonstrations last weekend outside the Turkish embassy in Sweden, where an anti-Islam activist burned the Koran and pro-Kurdish groups protested against Turkey. The events sharpened Turkey’s refusal so far to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid.

Sweden and Finland jointly applied to become members of the military alliance, dropping its long-standing military non-alignment following Russia’s war on Ukraine. In a pre-recorded video of an event released on Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that Turkey may withdraw against only Finland.

“If necessary, we can give a different message about Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give the different message about Finland.” Erdogan told a group of youths in Bilecik province.

Turkey has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient toward groups it considers terrorist organizations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. NATO requires unanimous approval by its existing members to add new ones, but Erdogan’s government has said it would only agree to admit Sweden if the country meets its conditions.

In its travel warning to citizens, the Turkish Foreign Ministry cited an increase in anti-Turkish protests from “groups with links to terrorist groups,” a reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Together with Turkey, the EU and the US also designate the PKK as a terrorist group.

Pro-Kurdish groups have waved the flags of the PKK and its affiliates during protests in Sweden organized in response to Sweden and Finland’s pledge to prevent PKK activities in their countries in order to gain Turkey’s approval for their NATO membership.

Erdogan said he told the Swedish prime minister: “You will extradite these terrorists if you really want to enter NATO. If you don’t extradite these terrorists, then sorry.” He said Turkey had provided a list of 120 people it wants extradited from Sweden, a demand included in a memorandum signed in June that overrode Turkey’s veto of the Nordic nations’ joint application.

Turkey is demanding the extradition of alleged PKK militants as well as some supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric blamed for the 2016 coup attempt. In December, The Supreme Court said the country cannot extradite Bulent Kenes, former editor-in-chief of a newspaper linked to Gulen, angers Turkey.

Turkey also strongly condemned far-right activist Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Koran last weekend in Stockholm, which he repeated in Copenhagen on Friday. Ankara summoned the Dutch ambassador after another far-right activist tore pages from the Koran in The Hague.

After last week’s protests, Erdogan warned Sweden not to expect support for their membership application to the military alliance. Turkey also indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to take precautions and stay away from demonstration areas in Europe. It also said they should go to local authorities if they face xenophobic or racist attacks.

In a separate advisory, the ministry also urged Turkish citizens to be vigilant in the United States in the event of protests in response to the fatal police beating of Tire Nichols, an unarmed black man.

Earlier Saturday, before Turkey had issued its travel warning, the Nordic countries separately issued updated travel guidelines for Turkey. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden urged their citizens visiting Turkey to avoid large gatherings and to exercise caution.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website that Sweden’s embassy in Ankara remains closed to the public and visitors to the country’s consulate general in Istanbul are “requested to exercise vigilance”.

“We want to make Swedes in Turkey aware that further manifestations may occur,” the Swedish ministry said, referring to counter-protests that erupted in Turkey after last weekend’s events in Stockholm.

___

Jari Tanner in Helsinki contributed.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.