BRUSSELS, Feb 10: France and Belgium on Tuesday again opposed calls for Nato to start contingency military planning for Turkey in case of an invasion of Iraq, plunging the 19-member alliance into its worst crisis in 50 years.
“This is undoubtedly a difficult situation...we have an argument of a serious nature,” Nato Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters after crisis talks on the issue failed to result in agreement.
Turkey is the only member of the alliance that has a border with Iraq.
Ankara added to the pressure on the three allies by insisting that it wanted crisis consultations on a potential threat to its security.
The Nato chief said he was confident that Ankara’s demand for talks on its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” — as provided for under Article 4 of the Nato treaty — would help focus minds on the issue.
“The question is not of if but when to begin Nato planning,” Mr Robertson insisted, adding that he saw the differences of opinion among alliance members as an “honest disagreement”.
He predicted that the alliance would keep struggling to reach consensus as demanded by Nato rules.
Washington first put in its call for Nato assistance for Turkey in case of war against Baghdad last month.
But France, Belgium and Germany have insisted from the start that such planning was premature and that consideration of a war scenario could pre-empt diplomatic efforts to solve the Iraq crisis.
Diplomats say Nato contingency planning would involve the deployment of AWACS surveillance planes and Patriot missiles to protect Turkey against any Iraqi counterstrike.
Agencies add:
The United States reacted angrily after France and Belgium blocked its request to begin logistical planning to defend Turkey.
“Because of this action Nato is now facing a crisis of credibility,” US Ambassador to Nato Nicholas Burns told reporters.
“That is the most unfortunate decision by three allies,” he said.
With UN weapons inspectors set to deliver what could be a make-or-break report on Baghdad’s cooperation on Friday, Paris and Berlin are leading a European effort to put the brakes on war and find a peaceful resolution.
“Nato preparations for a war would send the wrong signal,” German government spokesman Bela Anda said.
But a senior Nato official retorted: “Those countries are gambling with Nato’s future.
“This is urgent, it’s a question of principle, not a question of technicalities,” he said.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Munich, had already warned on Sunday that any veto by Belgium, France and Germany would be “breathtaking”.
“I think it’s a shame because Turkey is an important country,” he said in an interview with 10 European newspapers, including the Times of London.”
“Nato will survive,” he said, “but a veto would be a surprising and breathtaking event that I suspect would reverberate for a while.”
The latest crisis comes at a crucial moment in Nato’s history as it prepares to welcome seven more members next year drawn from the former Soviet bloc.
The alliance was consigned by many to irrelevance after the end of the Cold War, but appeared to have gained a new lease of life after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.
Nato for the first time invoked its Article 5 — which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. But then the alliance was sidelined in the US-led war on Afghanistan.
In November, Nato trumpeted its collective will to back the United Nations over Iraq.
Nato has faced previous crises “but not a crisis like this”, said Andre Dumoulin of Belgium’s Royal Military School.
“It is really fundamental and implies thinking about the future of the alliance,” he said.
“Clearly, we are disappointed we haven’t been able to settle it, but the important point is that discussions continue,” a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said.