The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs commission on Tuesday approved a bill that ratifies Sweden's bid to join NATO, Anadolu Agency reported.

The commission voted to back the bid after some four hours of debate, including talks on other matters. 

The next step is a vote in the parliament general assembly and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would then sign it into law.

Commission head Fuat Oktay played down expectations for a speedy vote in the general assembly, telling reporters in parliament that the parliament speaker would decide on timing.

(With input from Reuters)