Turkey cancels Swedish defence minister visit after protest permit

"At this point, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson's visit to Turkey on January 27 has lost its significance and meaning, so we cancelled the visit," Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

The Swedish minister visit was aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to Sweden's bid to join the NATO military alliance.

Turkey has been angered by permission obtained by a right-wing extremist to demonstrate later on Saturday in front of the Turkish embassy in the Swedish capital.