Turkey’s Parliament Speaker, Numan Kurtulmus, has stated that Sweden has fulfilled an important part of Turkey’s demands for its NATO bid. He emphasized the need for NATO members to address Turkey’s legitimate expectations, including ending any support to terrorist groups and banning anti-Turkish activities on their lands.
Kurtulmus also urged Sweden to act carefully against Islamophobia in Europe and noted that Turkey is not against NATO’s expansion. While the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved Sweden’s NATO bid in December, the full parliamentary approval is pending. The decision will be made when the general assembly of Parliament returns from recess on January 16. Turkey had previously approved Finland’s NATO bid in March 2023.