NATO Reaches Agreement on Military Support to Turkey

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 17, 2003

NATO Reaches Agreement on Military Support to Turkey

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reached an agreement Sunday on providing military support for Turkey in case of an Iraqi war, the military alliance chief announced in Brussels Sunday evening.

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The agreement reached by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on planning for Turkey's defense in event of war on Sunday met the Arab world's rejection to any support for military action against Iraq.

Following massive worldwide anti-war protests on Saturday, NATO finally healed the rift late Sunday after hours of heated debate in the Defense Planning committee (DPC), where France has no seat.

The Arab world, most of which has always been opposed to a possible war in the region, adopted a resolution on Sunday, saying that threat to any Arab country is threat to the national security of all Arab states.

NATO'S Gaps over Iraq Closed

After the meeting of its 18-member DPC, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told a press conference in Brussels that "I'm happy to announce that we have been able collectively to overcome the impasse that we've faced for the last few days."

"We agree on substance, we agree on timing, and we agree on how to integrate our collective solidarity with Turkey," he said, adding that the solidarity of the Alliance has prevailed.

Germany, France and Belgium immediately issued a joint declaration stressing that the accord "does not in any way prejudge ongoing efforts" to work within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 to reach a peaceful solution of the Iraqi crisis.

The three countries had held out the planning for about a month, arguing that it was premature for NATO to take measures which would undermine UN efforts to solve the issue peacefully.

"We would have preferred to have a decision by the 19 members of the North Atlantic Council. France has got its own position, it can answer for itself," Robertson said.

"This decision relates only to the defense of Turkey, and is without prejudice to any other military operations by NATO, and future decisions by NATO or the UN Security Council," he said.

Arab World Refuses to Commit Assistance to Military Action against Iraq

During an emergency meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Arab foreign ministers said on Sunday that their countries should refrain from providing any kind of assistance or facilities for any military action that leads to the threat to Iraq's security.

In the resolution, the ministers called for the safeguarding of Iraq's territorial integrity and security and rejected any menace to the security of the whole Arab world.

It reaffirmed that the Arab countries consider any threat to the security and safety of any Arab country to be a threat to the national security of all Arab countries as well as to international peace and security.

The Arab foreign ministers reiterated determination not to offer any kind of assistance or facility by their states to any military action against Iraq or the region.

They welcomed confidence-building between Iraq and the UN inspectors based on Iraqi cooperation with the inspectors with the aim of concluding their mission as soon as possible.

The ministers reiterated their solidarity with the Iraqi people, saying the UN Security Council should reactivate its relevant resolutions on lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq more than 10 years ago.

The meeting of Arab foreign ministers opened in Cairo on Sunday morning amid a looming war on Iraq.

Foreign ministers from 20 Arab countries and representatives from Oman and Mauritania attended the meeting, which focused on the Iraqi standoff and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Turkey may Delay Vote to Provide Military Base

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis indicated on Sunday that the government may not be able to hand over to the parliament a US-sought motion to station tens of thousands of its troops near the Turkish border with Iraq.

The government announced on the eve of the nine-day Feast of Sacrifice holiday which started on Feb. 8 that it would ask the parliament after the festival to adopt a motion allowing deployment of US troops in Turkey in preparation for war against Iraq.

"There are difficulties about the timing of the motion about deployment of foreign soldiers in Turkey and the dispatch of Turkish soldiers abroad," Yakis told reporters Sunday at the airport in Ankara upon his return from a visit to Washington.

Yakis just wrapped up a visit to the United States, which focused on an economic package to be provided by Washington to compensate Turkey's losses to be resulted from the possible war against Baghdad.

"The US side stressed that the approval of the motion was of great importance to them, ... we told them the approval of the motion on Feb. 18 was quite difficult," he said.

Yakis said recent developments regarding the motion would be discussed at a meeting later in the day, adding that he found it difficult to submit the motion to the parliament on Feb. 18.

Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said that Iraq should take "shocking steps" to avoid a US-led war.

Sahin made the remarks while meeting with visiting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. He asked Aziz to convey a message to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that Baghdad "did not have any time left."

"The statements Iraq made two days ago are not sufficient enough. Iraq should take stronger steps. Saddam has to take shocking steps which will surprise the world," Sahin stressed.

UN Inspections Continuing

UN inspectors Sunday visited a military facility north of Baghdad and tagged Iraqi Al Samoud missiles, which were cited as the evidence of Iraq's violation of UN resolutions.

A missile team of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) went to a military storage in the Taji area, 40 km north of Baghdad, and tagged four newly-produced Al Samoud missiles to indicate they were tracked, a UNMOVIC Spokesman said in a statement.

UN inspectors also went to other facilities to tag imported Al Samoud engines and identify Al Samoud parts, the statement said.

The inspectors, some using helicopters, Sunday inspected at least 12 sites, including military bases and a college.

They relaunched the search for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction last November, four years after the now defunct UN Special Commission left Iraq ahead of a US-British bombing blitz.

Chief UN inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei presented Friday their second status report to the Security Council, providing a mixed picture of Iraq's disarmament process.

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