Turk's complaints

Ankara has diverted NATO's attention away from Moscow

Relations between Russia and NATO, frozen last year after the outbreak of the Yugoslav war and which began to “thaw” last spring, have entered a stage of stabilization. This conclusion can be drawn based on the results of the next meeting of the Russia-NATO joint permanent council at the level of foreign ministers, held at the end of last week in Brussels. Both Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and NATO Secretary General George Robertson are pleased with the “positive results” of the meeting, and Mr. Ivanov specifically pointed out that constant contacts between representatives of Russia and the alliance at the ambassadorial level are “more constructive than before.” Even the situation around Yugoslavia is now assessed almost equally - Brussels, like Moscow, is concerned about the activity of Albanian separatists in the border zone between Kosovo and Serbia. Russia and NATO have finally agreed to restore the Alliance information center in Moscow, which was closed by Russia in protest against the Yugoslav campaign.

However, NATO ministers were clearly less concerned about relations with Moscow this time than the problem that arose a day earlier at a meeting of the NATO Council: Turkey was blocking an important agreement on interaction between NATO and the newly created European rapid reaction forces. The forces established at the recent EU summit in Nice have already caused concern in Washington; Pentagon chief William Cohen even said that they would undermine NATO unity if they did not closely coordinate their activities with the alliance. This problem seems to have been resolved: NATO officials, when mentioning future operations of European forces, always emphasize that these forces will be used where the Alliance itself is not involved. However, a new problem arose - Ankara categorically opposed the EU defense structures receiving permanent access to NATO operational planning, which the European Union is seeking within the framework of the very coordination. Türkiye has been trying for a long time and unsuccessfully to start negotiations on joining the EU. Europe is keeping Ankara at a distance, citing Turkey's human rights problems. Observers regard the veto of the NATO-EU agreement as outright revenge. Turkish officials themselves categorically reject this, claiming that they care only about European security, in the maintenance of which “Türkiye, as a member of NATO, has been participating for half a century.” Despite pressure from Washington, and President Clinton personally called Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit, Ankara takes an irreconcilable position. Turkey fears that if the military wing of the EU, and not NATO, takes responsibility for security in Europe, then a number of issues that Ankara considers vitally important for itself (for example, the situation in the Balkans and especially the Cyprus settlement) will be resolved without its participation.

For Moscow, the current situation in relations between the EU and NATO promises additional space for diplomatic maneuver. In any case, some unrest in the ranks of the US's European allies is conducive to Russia's efforts to create a front of opponents to the national missile defense system, which the new President Bush is more inclined to deploy than his predecessor Clinton. As Russian diplomats say, their tactic is not just to point out the inadmissibility of breaking the system of strategic stability, but also to constantly offer alternatives that will make NMD unnecessary. These include the European missile defense system, for which Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev recently again campaigned in Brussels. True, says Alliance Secretary General George Robertson, the marshal did not present a specific plan, so it is too early to evaluate Russia’s proposals. Another step towards “creating an alternative” was the Russian-American memorandum signed on Saturday in Brussels by Igor Ivanov and Madeleine Albright, which provides for the construction of a center to notify each other about missile launches. According to Moscow, the more such documents there are, the more difficult it will be for the White House to come up with new arguments in defense of its idea of ​​a “nuclear umbrella.” By the way, the memorandum is the last Russian-American document concluded by the Bill Clinton administration.

Fedor LUKYANOV, Brussels-Moscow