Rasmussen tells Turkey, Greece to resolve differences

Rasmussen was speaking at a joint press conference following his talks with Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu. The NATO chief arrived in Ankara on Thursday from Athens, where he urged neighbors Greece and Turkey to find pragmatic solutions to disputes which he said are holding up a deal for improved security cooperation in Afghanistan.

“At the moment, the problem is the absence of an agreement on security between the EU and Turkey. In addition, NATO couldn't have an agreement on a security deal with [Greek] Cyprus,” Rasmussen was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. The former Danish prime minister said he has been aware of historical facts, referring to the long-running disagreements between Turkey and Greece, yet added that the sides should focus on finding practical solutions.

Turkey does not recognize the Greek Cypriot-led government on the divided island of Cyprus and maintains 35,000 troops in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). On Thursday in Athens, Rasmussen said the dispute is hampering closer cooperation between NATO and the EU, which are both involved in missions to train Afghanistan's police and military.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had talks with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Friday.

“I think this should be a matter of concern for responsible politicians in both organizations [NATO and the EU],” said Rasmussen, who met in Athens with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. “At the end of the day, the lack of security agreements might put our personnel on the ground at risk. … It is a subject of real concern to me.”

Karamanlis said Greece is a strong supporter of closer EU-NATO ties. But he added: “If NATO is seeking greater cooperation with the EU then, obviously, that means with all of its members,” he said. “It's primarily a matter of common sense.”

Currently, the so-called “Berlin Plus” agreement provides the basis for NATO-EU cooperation in crisis management by allowing the EU to have access to NATO's collective assets and capabilities for EU-led operations, including command arrangements and assistance in operational planning. In effect, they allow the alliance to support EU-led operations in which NATO as a whole is not engaged.

Turkey asserts that the Berlin Plus agreement reached during the EU Copenhagen summit in December 2002, which allows the EU to draw on NATO assets and operational planning capabilities in its own operations, provides a sufficient framework for bilateral cooperation between the two bodies. Greek Cypriots, supported by Athens, argue that this existing agreement should be expanded to include the members of the EU that joined in May 2004.

On the issue of NATO-EU cooperation, Davutoğlu said Turkey has so far fulfilled its commitments. “We consider a relationship which is based on past commitments. For example, I told him that the fact that Turkey still could not become a member of the European Defense Agency [EDA] cannot be understood by us at all,” he added, in apparent reference to Brussels' inaction to persuade EU-member Greek Cyprus to drop its veto over Ankara's bid to become an associate member of EDA, the body set up to nurture EU-wide defense industry policy.

No new demand on Afghanistan

Speaking in Ankara, Rasmussen said the alliance's mission in Afghanistan will last “as long as it takes” to secure the country's security. Rasmussen said the mission is “making a difference” in the war-ravaged and poverty-stricken country and needs to do even more.

Stressing that he has been asking alliance members to contribute to a mission to train Afghan soldiers and police, the NATO chief said he has been awaiting the results of a US report on the war in Afghanistan to determine how many more combat troops would be required.

Davutoğlu said Turkey will continue its ongoing support to train Afghan soldiers and police, while recalling that Turkey is currently continuing its support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with around 800 non-combat troops in Afghanistan. The Turkish troops were in charge of the rotating leadership of the Kabul Regional Command between April and December 2007. The Kabul Regional Command was created in the summer of 2006 under the joint leadership of Turkey, France and Italy as part of ISAF in Afghanistan.

Turkey is readying to assume the leadership of the Kabul Regional Command once again in November, Davutoğlu said, noting that the number of non-combat troops would increase to 1,600 while assuming the leadership in November. The minister said Turkey has received no additional demand for Afghanistan, apparently referring to a demand concerning combat troops.