NATO SEES NO IMPACT FROM TURK-FRENCH MILITARY FREEZE
Reuters, UK
Nov 16 2006
BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Turkey has assured NATO its move to
freeze military ties with France in a growing diplomatic row will
have no impact on alliance operations, a spokesman for the Western
defence organisation said on Thursday.
The two NATO allies work side-by-side in the Afghan capital Kabul as
part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
which is battling a fierce Taliban insurgency in a mission NATO says
is vital to its credibility.
General Ilker Basbug, head of Turkish land forces, said on Wednesday
that Ankara was suspending military ties with Paris in protest at the
French parliament’s support for a bill making it a crime to deny that
Armenians suffered genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
"Our initial understanding is that the Turkish decision will not affect
NATO. It (the freeze) is focused on bilateral military activities,
not NATO operations," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.
He said that assessment was based on statements by the Turkish
delegation at NATO and ISAF officials.
The French National Assembly voted last month in favour of the Armenian
bill, triggering threats of a trade boycott in Turkey, which strongly
rejects the claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War One.
While the French bill is unlikely to make it into law because it
is opposed by President Jacques Chirac, many Turks see it as further
proof that opponents of its bid to join the European Union are gaining
the upper hand.
French defence firms view NATO member Turkey, which has a fast-growing
economy, as a lucrative market for their hardware.