Deadlock in NATO continues
By Lisbeth Kirk, Annalisa Monaco, CESD
The deadlock in NATO over when to start planning assistance to Turkey continued on Tuesday, with ambassadors from the 19 NATO countries ending a short 20 minute formal meeting without result. The North Atlantic Council (NAC) will reconvene tomorrow at 9.45am amidst debate over whether the on-going crisis has really blown NATO's credibility in American eyes and put the Alliance’s relevance as a military organisation into question.
France, Germany and Belgium gave no sign that they would give in and give the go-ahead for the Alliance to protect Turkey in case of war in Iraq. Such a concession, in their eyes, could suggest that they had given up on diplomatic efforts to avert a war.
France is the key
Join EUobserver today
Get the EU news that really matters
Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.
Choose your plan
... or subscribe as a group
Already a member?
Turkey is the only NATO member bordering Iraq and a potential launching pad for strikes against Baghdad. In 1991 during the Kuwait crisis, NATO agreed to assist Turkey in a similar way. The Defence Planning Committee, DPC, took the decision at the time. France is not represented there as it pulled out from NATO's military structures in 1966.
Today the assistance to Turkey is discussed in the North Atlantic Council, NATO's highest decision making body, The North Atlantic Council (NAC) which includes France. And this is where the difference is, high-ranking NATO officials told the EUobserver. Without French support, Germany and Belgium could not hold up the go-ahead for NATO to support Turkey.
Three failed sessions
This is the third failed meeting of the NAC in two days. Sources close to the Council said that such exchanges between the different camps, as took place on Monday, had never before been heard at NATO.
Officials told the EUobserver, that an agreement was not expected before Friday this week, after the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, for the second time has reported to the UN Security Council on his findings in Iraq. Some clearly would prefer that a decision to help Turkey is taken purely within the NATO framework without involving the decision in UN procedures. If Turkey is under threat, then the Alliance should respond with support, argue certain quarters.
Worst crisis in Alliance’s 54 year history
The crisis is being described as the worst during the 54-year history of NATO. It
was triggered when France, Germany and Belgium blocked NATO plans to
begin shipping defensive equipment to Turkey. The shipping could take up to
30 days.
The Greek EU presidency has called for an emergency EU summit on Iraq to be held in Brussels on Monday 17 February. This meeting will be attended by the leaders of the 15 EU member states.
The Iraq crisis has split the Europeans completely and left the fledgling Common European Security and Defence Policy in ruins - just a month ahead of the first EU military operation to start in Macedonia.
Earlier this month Italian, British, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Polish, Czech and Hungarian leaders signed a letter supporting the US policy over Iraq. A group of candidate countries hoping to join the EU next year, the "Vilnius Ten", also issued a declaration supporting the US.