Tag: Rasmussen

  • Operational headquarters of NATO ground forces to be built in Izmir, Turkey

    Operational headquarters of NATO ground forces to be built in Izmir, Turkey

    In the near future Izmir in Turkey will host the operational headquarters of NATO ground forces, which will be of great importance for the Alliance, NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen told a meeting dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Turkey’s membership in NATO, Turkish media reports.

    “I appreciate the significant contribution of Turkey to our operations in the Balkans, in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya, as well as the recent announcement of the placing of the ABM systems on Turkish territory,” he said. According to Rasmussen, Turkey itself has asked to install the NATO missile defense system radars on its territory. Noting the important role of Turkey in world history, Rasmussen said that since the “cold war” this country had “maintained its position on the world stage.” “Turkey’s role in the “cold war” was decisive. A new security system was established later, and I think that the recent events have proved the significant role of Turkey. Events in North Africa and the Middle East have shown that Turkey still is and will continue to be important,”he said. Rasmussen said that he considered Turkey a strong and important ally, not only due to its geographical location, but also its historical, cultural and religious values.

    via Operational headquarters of NATO ground forces to be built in Izmir, Turkey | Vestnik Kavkaza.

  • NATO Leader Worried by Turkey’s Rifts With Cyprus and Israel

    NATO Leader Worried by Turkey’s Rifts With Cyprus and Israel

    BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, expressed disquiet on Friday about Turkey’s more assertive foreign policy in the Mediterranean, saying that tensions over natural-gas exploration between Turkey and Cyprus as well as relations with Israel were “a matter of concern.”

    Mr. Rasmussen said he did not foresee the tension turning into conflict in the Mediterranean, and he praised Turkey as a indispensable member of NATO that could help serve “as a bridge” between the West and the Arab countries now engaged in revolts and revolutions.

    “Obviously the tensions between Turkey and Israel are a matter of concern,” he said in an interview here. “It’s a bilateral issue, NATO is not going to interfere with that,” he added, “but it is the interest of the alliance to see these tensions eased, because Turkey is a key ally and Israel is a valuable partner for the alliance.” Turkey has become increasingly outspoken in support of the Palestinians and in its animosity toward Israel, once an important ally.

    Mr. Rasmussen emphasized that NATO, as an alliance that works by consensus, would not become involved in bilateral matters or the domestic politics of member countries.

    Asked about Turkey’s warning that it might send military ships toward Cyprus, which is exploring for natural gas in the Mediterranean, as is Israel, Mr. Rasmussen said that “NATO as an organization is not going to interfere with these disputes,” while adding, “I do not envisage armed conflict in the eastern part of the Mediterranean.”

    Relations with Turkey have to be managed carefully as it asserts a growing role on the global stage, he suggested. “I think Turkey can play a stabilizing role in the region and serve as a role model for countries in the region that are currently transforming from dictatorship into democracy,” he said.

    Mr. Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Denmark who is now two years into his NATO post, also praised Turkey’s decision to participate in a new missile-defense system for NATO. He said it was evidence of the commitment of Turkey to the trans-Atlantic alliance and a signal that its was not turning away from its Western orientation. The government in Ankara has agreed to host on its territory a sophisticated American radar system that will form part of the missile shield.

    About Russia and the decision of President Dmitri A. Medvedev to make way for Vladimir V. Putin, he said: “We’ll see what I would call continuity in the Kremlin. I don’t expect major changes there in Russian foreign and security policy.” He said he thought Russia remained committed to working with NATO on missile defense, a main aim of Mr. Rasmussen’s tenure.

    Another central objective for the NATO secretary general is to persuade European allies to coordinate defense spending and cooperate on procurement to try to ensure that military capabilities improve, despite the expenditure cuts being pushed through by many national governments.

    Mr. Rasmussen criticized a proposal from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain to set up a defense-planning headquarters for the European Union based in Brussels. The plan is opposed by Britain, which sees the move as a duplication of NATO facilities and a waste of money — a view echoed by Mr. Rasmussen.

    “Honestly speaking, what we need is investment in military hardware and not in new bureaucracies and headquarters,” he said. “I don’t think we need more headquarters. What we need is more investment in critical military capabilities.”

    “I’m neither naïve nor unrealistic,” added Mr. Rasmussen. “I know very well, as a politician, that during a period of economic austerity you cannot expect increases in defense budgets.” That fact, he said, indicated that the alliance countries “need to make more effective use of our resources through more multinational cooperation — what I call smart defense.”

    Mr. Rasmussen rejected suggestions that the United States was reducing its commitment to NATO because it took a secondary role in the operations against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya. “The American commitment to NATO remains as strong as ever,” he said. “The U.S. was strongly engaged in this operation, and we could not have carried out this operation successfully without the unique and essential U.S. assets.” In particular, he mentioned intelligence, drone aircraft and air-to-air refueling, all areas in which European members should invest more, he said.

    “The positive story, he said, “is that Europeans took the lead and that was actually a clear response to an American request for more European engagement, a call on Europeans to take more responsibility, and the Europeans stepped up to the plate.”

    He said that there was “a division of labor which makes it possible for our alliance, in a flexible way, to conduct several operations at the same time,” with the Americans leading in Afghanistan, several European nations in the forefront in Libya and the Germans taking charge in Kosovo.

    via NATO Leader Worried by Turkey’s Rifts With Cyprus and Israel – NYTimes.com.

  • Bulgaria Teams up with Turkey for Military Projects

    Bulgaria Teams up with Turkey for Military Projects

    Bulgaria’s premier wants an antimissile shield over the whole territory of the country

    Bulgaria's PM Borissov had a 30-minute talk with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the city of Varna  Photo: BTA
    Bulgaria's PM Borissov had a 30-minute talk with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the city of Varna Photo: BTA

    Bulgaria may team up with Turkey, Romania and Croatia in buyng modern jet fighters. “If the relevant authorities reach consensus we may share the new fighters and have common training bases for pilots and technical personnel,” PM Boyko Borisov commented. Yesterday, the PM arrived in the Black Sea city of Varna together with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen where they will attend the conference of the Alliance. Before the discussions started the two statesmen had a tete-a-tete for over one hour. During the meeting the NATO top official extended his thanks to Sofia for the Bulgarian participation in the NATO missions in Afghanistan and Libya. According to Rasmussen the NATO potential should be used more efficiently and interoperability of the member countries should be enhanced. He gave as an example of good cooperation the purchase of three C-17 by NATO countries that will be used jointly. He recommended that similar projects should be implemented in other spheres, too.

    PM Boyko Borissov pointed out that in spite of the crisis last year the government has allotted 300M leva more for the defense budget. In his words currently Bulgaria is working with Romania, Croatia and Turkey on joint projects.

    Regarding the anti-missile shield PM Borissov stated categorically his support for dislocating elements of the system in Bulgaria. “Our only requirement is the system to protect the entire territory of Bulgaria. From that point on – in which countries what part and what elements to be dislocated depends entirely on NATO technical and strategic decisions,” PM Borissov underlined.

    PM Borissov appealed to NATO saying it should carefully consider Bulgaria’s position regarding the situation in Libya. As of next week Sofia will take part in a contact group which takes political decisions connected with the military operation in Libya.

    “My request is that the stand of Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister be carefully listened to by the members of the contact group as Bulgaria has had the possibility to hold negotiations with Libya and know well part of the opposition in Libya which is presently in Benghazi,” PM Borissov stated on the last day of the sitting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held in the Black Sea city of Varna, northeastern Bulgaria.

    PM Borissov expressed his regret that the actions against Gaddafi had come late pointing that Libya held Bulgarian medics as hostages for many years before the eyes of the international community.

    Panayot Angarev

    Krastina Marinova

    via Bulgaria – Bulgaria Teams up with Turkey for Military Projects – Standart.

  • NATO’s Rasmussen visits Turkey

    NATO’s Rasmussen visits Turkey

    Anders Fogh RasmussenANKARA, Turkey — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived in Ankara on Thursday (October 7th) saying that the Alliance should boost its contingent in Afghanistan in order to train the local army. “I have urged the rest of the Allies, I will also urge Turkey. The Afghans should assume higher responsibility for their country. More troops are necessary to train the Afghani army,” Rasmussen said. Ankara has refused to send more troops to Afghanistan — on top of the 1,800 soldiers already there — if they are assigned to military operations.

    Another issue topping the agenda is Cyprus. “We are ready to work with him to find a solution that would take into consideration Turkey’s attitude in principle and allay our concerns,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said before meeting with Rasmussen. The visit is part of a tour he is making ahead of NATO’s November summit in Lisbon. (Turkish NY, DPA, Hurriyet – 08/10/10)

  • The Turkish Conundrum

    The Turkish Conundrum

    This post is authored for PoliGazette by Robert Ellis. As usual, guests posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PoliGazette or any of its authors.

    Three weeks ago Stephen Kinzer claimed in The Guardian that NATO had “dissed” the Muslim world by nominating Danish PM Rasmussen as its new secretary-general. But the boot is on the other foot.

    The occasion was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the NATO alliance in 1949. The preamble to the treaty declares that the parties are “determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”. In other words, the alliance was founded to defend the values on which our Western civilisation is based.

    However, the question that arose during the debate surrounding Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy is how far Turkey, which has been a loyal and stable member of the alliance since 1952, shares these values, especially since the advent of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government in 2002. Since the end of the Cold War NATO now faces a confrontation with militant Islam, particularly in Afghanistan and Iran. And the main objection that Turkey raised, that of the role played by the Danish prime minister during the cartoon crisis in 2005, created a doubt as to whether Turkey was acting as a spokesman for the Muslim world or the Western alliance.

    The cartoon crisis

    The background to the cartoon crisis was the attack on a lecturer at Copenhagen University in October 2004, because he as a ‘kuffar’ (unbeliever) had recited from the Koran during a lecture. The following month the Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, was murdered because his critical view of Islam, “Submission”, had been shown on Dutch tv.

    Consequently, a Danish author of a children’s book on the life of the prophet Muhammad had difficulty in a finding an illustrator, and when he finally found one, the artist insisted on remaining anonymous. This, coupled with other incidents of self-censorship, prompted the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten to ask the Danish Cartoonists’ Association to draw the prophet “as you see him”. 12 replied, and the cartoons were published at the end of September 2005.

    Then the ball started rolling. 11 Muslim ambassadors wrote to the Danish prime minister, complaining of the “ongoing smearing campaign” against Islam and Muslims, and called on Rasmussen to “take all those responsible to task under law of the land”. In fact, the tone of the letter was not, as Stephen Kinzer alleges, conciliatory but confrontational.

    Three days later the Danish prime minister received a letter from Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Turkish secretary general of the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference), reiterating the ambassadors’ complaint. In the circumstances, Rasmussen decided not to meet with the ambassadors and sent an identical reply to them and the OIC, where he explained that the freedom of expression has a wide scope and that the Danish government has no means of influencing the press.

    Shortly afterwards Rasmussen reminded Turkey that one of the criteria that qualify for EU membership is that a society complies in full with democratic principles, including the freedom of expression and the press’s unlimited right within the law to criticize both political and religious authorities.

    Between two stools

    Turkey’s problem, which has been underlined by the recent controversy, is that it falls between two stools. On the one hand, Turkey as a member of the Council of Europe is signatory to the European Human Rights Convention, which maintains the right of freedom of expression subject to such laws as are necessary in a democratic society. On the other hand, as a member of the OIC it is also signatory to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which stipulates that everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely “in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’a”.

    The Turkish premier, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, explained that his objections to Rasmussen’s appointment were those that had been expressed to him by various Muslim states, in which case the question arises whether Turkey, as a member of NATO and a candidate for EU membership, is a spokesman for the Muslim world or representative of Western values in that region.

    This is not the first time Erdogan has been caught in such a conflict. For example, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the headscarf ban at Turkish universities in 2005, but Erdogan immediately disputed the Court’s competence to issue a ruling on this issue. “That right”, he stated, “belongs to the scholars of Islam”. This is the same Erdogan that fifteen years ago declared: “Thank God Almighty, I am a servant of the Shari’a.”

    Olli Rehn, the EU’s enlargement commissioer, also found the ground for Turkey’s opposition to Rasmussen’s candidacy “a bit hollow” and added: “It does not look good from a European perspective, because freedom of expression is such a fundamental value, and meanwhile Turkey is aiming to become a member of the European Union.”

    Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gül, found Rehn’s remarks “unpleasant” and warned that such criticism could have consequences for Western securíty. According to Gül: ´”We acted in a rational, logical and modern way”, but it was only Barack Obama’s intervention that forestalled a standoff.

    It is ironic that the NATO summit in Strasbourg was followed by the second forum in the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul. Here Rasmussen once again stressed that freedom of expression is a precondition for open dialogue and that all forms of censorship are enemies of that dialogue. Turkey, which has a dismal human rights record and ranks 102nd out of 173 countries in terms of freedom of the press, should – instead of being offended – take the new secretary-general’s remarks to heart.

    Robert Ellis is a regular commentator on Turkish affairs in Denmark and from 2005 to 2008 was a frequent contributor to the Turkish Daily News. 

  • Turkey Reaches Compromise Over New Head of NATO

    Turkey Reaches Compromise Over New Head of NATO

    Turkey Reaches Compromise Over New Head of NATO

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 65
    April 6, 2009
    By: Saban Kardas

    NATO members took important decisions during the April 3-4 summit, celebrating the Alliance’s 60th anniversary. Following intense negotiations to ameliorate Turkey’s reservations, on April 4 NATO leaders named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Ramussen as their new Secretary-General. Turkey’s agreement sparked controversy in Turkey as to whether Ankara had used the threat of veto prior to the summit as an effective bargaining chip.

    Turkey had signaled that it might veto Rasmussen’s appointment, based on its misgivings in his handling of the “cartoon crisis,” and his government’s refusal to address Turkey’s concerns regarding the activities of the pro-PKK Roj TV in Denmark (EDM, March 26).

    Turkey maintained its objections during the summit as President Abdullah Gul resisted pressure from European leaders, and reiterated Turkey’s concerns, which raised tensions and threatened to publicly expose the lack of consensus amongst the allies. The deadlock was finally broken only minutes before the conclusion of the summit. Announcing Rasmussen’s appointment, the current Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference: “there has been discussion over the past 36 hours but the fact that we are standing here next to each other means a solution has been found also for the concerns expressed by Turkey, and we all very much agree and are unanimous” (Hurriyet Daily News, April 5).

    President Barack Obama’s intervention apparently played a crucial role in securing the deal. Gul explained that he held a long and fruitful meeting with Obama, which was later joined by Rasmussen, during which Turkey’s concerns were alleviated. Gul added that “if we had not been convinced, we would not have hesitated to use our natural right,” implying that Ankara was prepared to veto Rasmussen (www.gazeteport.com.tr, April 4).

    Obama was not alone in approaching Turkey’s leaders to convince them to drop their objections to the EU-backed candidate Rasmussen. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi telephoned his Turkish counterpart and close friend Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Berlusconi was so occupied in a lengthy last-minute cell-phone conversation with Erdogan, that he could not join the other heads of state during the closing ceremonies, including the group photo.

    According to Erdogan, what changed Ankara’s position was Obama’s personal assurances to Gul that he would be the guarantor of the deal. The Turkish press reported that the package offered to Turkey included the following points: NATO’s deputy secretary-general, deputy assistant secretary-general for arms control, and special envoy for Afghanistan would be drawn from Turkish diplomats, and Turkish officers would receive command positions in the alliance’s military structures. Moreover, Rasmussen himself agreed that he would issue an apology to the Muslim world for the infamous cartoon crisis, and the Danish government would take steps to close the Roj TV (www.ntvmsnbc.com, April 4).

    It is unclear whether the episode was a success for Turkish diplomacy. It might be considered a failure, because, as many diplomatic observers had previously expected, Turkey could not risk undermining transatlantic consensus and ultimately had to lift its threat of veto. Conversely, it might be seen as success, because, Turkey held its ground until the last moment, and received concessions which appeared to satisfy its demands.

    On April 5, the headlines in Turkish newspapers included: “Turkey shaped NATO” (Yeni Safak), “Turkey won arm wrestling” (Sabah), “He will apologize in Istanbul” (Star). Commentators from the pro-government press compared Turkey’s attitude towards NATO to Prime Minister Erdogan’s Gaza policy and his high profile walkout in Davos. They argued that, unlike past governments which were submissive to western pressures, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government successfully defended the country’s national interests, and advocated Turkey’s preferences within an international organization. A commentary in Zaman on April 5 argued that through tough bargaining, Turkey had achieved its strongest position to date within the Alliance’s command structures. While the Islamist Vakit asserted that Turkey was no longer a country which would grant concessions without receiving anything in return.

    However, newspapers more critical of the government, represented Turkey’s “conditional approval” as a major defeat. On April 5 one Cumhuriyet columnist maintained that after weeks of bullying, Erdogan simply bowed to a Western imposition, only receiving minor concessions in return. Vatan maintained that Ankara failed to stand firm, and had to accept an insulting attitude from its European allies, while Erdogan did more harm than good by raising tensions ahead of the summit. They added that after Turkey perpetuated the image of Rasmussen as “the enemy of Islam,” a face saving compromise became more difficult to achieve. Hurriyet‘s editorial highlighted the contradictory pre-summit statements of both Erdogan and Gul; whereas Erdogan had argued uncompromisingly that Turkey was opposed to Rasmussen, Gul said that Turkey would not object to any name in principle. This discrepancy at the apex of the state, combined with drawing back from the veto threat had harmed the country’s national interests (Hurriyet, April 5).

    Although the compromise preserved the Alliance’s unity, its implications for Turkish diplomacy will be uncertain until Rasmussen takes office in August. After failing to convince its European allies to significantly increase their troop deployments to Afghanistan, Obama’s ability to foster consensus over appointing the next Secretary-General of NATO can be considered as a partial success for his leadership. For their part, Turkish leaders did not disappoint Obama, demonstrating the high premium they place on rejuvenating Turkish-U.S. relations. Obama must now deliver his side of the deal, and enforce its terms on Denmark and other European allies in order to help his Turkish counterpart claim success for this controversial decision.

    https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-reaches-compromise-over-new-head-of-nato/