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Turkey’s parliament to resume debate on Sweden’s NATO bid

Shortly after the parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee set a date for its new meeting, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that Turkey and the United States held high-level talks on defense cooperation.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson shake hands next to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before their meeting on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius on July 10, 2023. — Photo by HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

ANKARA — The Turkish parliament's Foreign Relations Committee will resume debating Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday after delaying a vote on it last month.

The committee's Tuesday agenda includes Sweden’s NATO accession protocols, Al-Monitor has learned. If the committee approves the text, then it will be voted on by the full parliament, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling alliance commands a majority.

The move comes after a rare phone call last week between Erdogan and President Joe Biden as Turkey is seeking guarantees for its bid to buy new F-16 fighter jets from Washington in return for its ratification of Sweden’s membership in NATO.

Shortly after the committee set a new meeting, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that Turkey and the United States held high-level talks on defense cooperation.

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