Turkey Blocks Defense Force Agreement

BRUSSELS — A lone stand by NATO member Turkey on Friday prevented the 19-nation alliance from concluding a basic agreement on its future cooperation in crisis management with a European Union rapid reaction force.

Despite the personal intervention of President Clinton with the Turkish government, Ankara would not agree to give the EU assured access to NATO planning capability for missions in which NATO as a whole was not involved.

The EU, stepping into the defense arena, is creating a 60,000-member force to be used in peacekeeping and humanitarian crises.

Turkey, which is not a member of the EU, is adamant that it have a full say in the EU-NATO relationship. The hang-up on Friday was coming up with phrasing for the declaration that would satisfy Ankara.

“In the end it is not we but Turkey that has to be satisfied, and for the moment they aren’t,” Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said.

Turkey, the bulwark of NATO’s southern flank with the Caucasus and Iraq, has serious territorial disputes with NATO ally Greece.

“We understand the fact that Turkey has particular concerns given its unique location, and it’s not surprising that its concerns are greater than other [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] allies,” Albright said.