BELGIUM: NATO is facing one of the worst crises in its 54-year history after France, Germany and Belgium blocked a proposal to strengthen Turkey's defences against a possible attack from Iraq.
An unprecedented emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels, invoked under article IV of the North Atlantic Treaty, broke up without agreement and is set to resume this morning.
NATO's Secretary General, Lord Robertson, described the meeting as "very heated" but expressed confidence that agreement could be found.
"The majority of the NATO countries reiterated the urgency for NATO to take a decision. Unfortunately we're not yet at the stage where we can achieve consensus. It is a matter of enormous consequence for this alliance and therefore people are taking it very seriously," he said.
Lord Robertson last week asked NATO's 19 member-states to approve the sending of Patriot missiles, AWACS surveillance aircraft and anti-chemical and anti-biological warfare equipment to Turkey, which is a member of the alliance. Under NATO's "silent procedure", the decision would have been taken as agreed if no formal objection was lodged by yesterday morning.
France and Belgium objected formally yesterday and although Germany did not make a formal objection, it expressed support for the French and Belgians. Turkey responded by invoking for the first time in the alliance's history article IV of NATO's founding treaty, which states that "parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence of security of any of the parties is threatened".
Turkey says it needs the equipment, which will take an estimated 30 days to put in place, to defend its border with Iraq in the event of war. France, Germany and Belgium, however, argue that for NATO to take such a step now would imply that war is inevitable.
Paris and Berlin are the EU's strongest advocates for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Iraq and their leaders, along with Russia's president, Mr Vladimir Putin, yesterday restated their determination to pursue all peaceful means towards a resolution.
Lord Robertson said that a presentation to the ambassadors by Gen Harald Kujat, the chairman of NATO's military committee, showed that Turkey's security concerns are legitimate.
"I think it was pretty sobering advice that they got and it may well affect the way they think about this issue when the morning comes," he said.
French and German diplomats last night attempted to play down the significance of the dispute, pointing out that there have been a number of important disagreements during NATO's history.
Other officials said that the alliance had not faced as great a crisis since the early 1980s when there were bitter divisions over the stationing of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Europe.
Spain's defence minister, Mr Federico Trillo, accused France and Germany of precipitating a profound crisis in the alliance.
"To say no to a Muslim country that is a member of the alliance sends a dreadful signal to other, moderate Arab states that want to share our societal and democratic model," he said.
