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Belgium proposes Nato compromise
Belgium says it is ready to end its veto of Nato military aid to Turkey.
Did the French give them permission?
Along with France and Germany, Brussels has been blocking a plan to send aid to Turkey, saying it could undermine efforts to find a diplomatic solution to avert war with Iraq. The Alliance is due to meet in Brussels on Sunday and make a fresh attempt to solve one of the worst crises in its 50-year history. The first meeting will involve Nato's Defence Planning Committee, on which France is not trusted or represented, followed by a full meeting of all 19 Nato ambassadors. EU foreign ministers are due to hold an emergency summit on Iraq on Monday, and diplomatic sources say that a breakthrough on the Nato deadlock could come on the fringes of that meeting. Belgium says it would agree to military aid for Turkey, if Nato makes clear that it is purely defensive and is not paving the war for a military build-up for an Iraq war.
Seeing as that's what Turkey wanted in the first place ...
Belgium "wants to avoid above all that this decision is a first step in a build-up to war", said Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. He said his government had been talking to Paris and Berlin in an effort to stall and delay find common ground. But there is still no clear indication of whether France and Germany would be prepared to follow the Belgian lead. Nato held several days of inconclusive talks last week in an attempt to resolve the issue. The US has argued that Nato was obliged under its treaty to provide military support to Turkey, the only member state which borders directly on Iraq. But France, which has firmly opposed any precipitate military action against Iraq, told its Nato allies that it could prejudice the Security Council debate on the issue by appearing to prepare to war.
And it would have sent a further signal to Sammy that we were serious, and the French can't have that, can they?
The US is still hoping that Turkey will allow at least one army division to be stationed there in the run-up to possible military action. Ankara is due to make a decision as early as Tuesday on whether to allow its bases to be used. A Nato commitment to help Turkey's own defences would, the Pentagon believes, help its case.
If the Turks fail to go forward on Tuesday, we'll know there's serious trouble.
Posted by: Steve White 2003-02-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=10281