BRUSSELS: Nato reached a deal on Tuesday to unblock partnerships with around 40 non-member countries which had been paralysed by a dispute between Turkey and Austria, officials said.

Turkey, with the second-biggest military in Nato, had vetoed all cooperation with neutral Austria after Vienna called for the European Union to halt membership talks with Ankara.

That in turn blocked the whole partnership programme with dozens of other non-Nato countries covering most of Europe, plus many countries in the Middle East and Asia.

But on Monday the 28 Nato nations agreed to change the system so that cooperation “will be planned on an individual basis, rather than collectively,” said a Nato official who asked not to be identified.

“This will substantially reduce the risk of blockages to cooperation with partners across the board,” he said. Turkey is expected to uphold its veto on Austrian participation, officials said.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2017