Foreign Affairs Committee

Cerstin Gammelin, spokeswoman for the German president, conveyed that Frank-Walter Steinmeier will abstain from extending congratulations to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his victory in the perceived fraudulent elections.

Ankara expects Washington to "act in accordance with the spirit of alliance and fulfill the commitments made" for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reportedly told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a phone call on Wednesday. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has hinted that the Turkish parliament will not proceed to ratify the Swedish accession to NATO unless the United States Congress takes action to approve the sale of 40 F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is visiting Brussels to attend the NATO foreign ministerial meetings and hold talks with allies on regional and international issues, including the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, as well as on the alliance's prospected expansion with Sweden.

A parliamentary panel will start deliberations on Sweden's accession to NATO on Nov. 16, the Turkish media has reported.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have spoken over the phone to discuss the recent developments in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, as the Turkish top diplomat mentioned about the unacceptability of collective punishment of civilians in Gaza.

The accession protocol of Sweden to join NATO has been sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish parliament, the Demiören News Agency has reported.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and allied countries have welcomed Türkiye's decision to move forward with Sweden's accession to join the alliance after more than one year of negotiations.

BRUSSELS - The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak says the situation in the north of Kosovo-Metohija remains fragile despite steps to deescalate tensions.

"Regrettably, despite the existence of clear steps to successfully deescalate tensions, the situation remains fragile," Lajcak wrote in a Facebook post.

The special adviser of the State Department, Derek Chollet, and the envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, will speak today before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Senate.