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Turkey agrees to back Nato plan for Baltic states and Poland Turkey agrees to back Nato plan for Baltic states and Poland
(about 4 hours later)
Nato chief says Ankara has dropped opposition to plan as fractious London summit draws to closeNato chief says Ankara has dropped opposition to plan as fractious London summit draws to close
Turkey has dropped its opposition to a plan to bolster the defences of Baltic states and Poland against Russia, the Nato secretary general has said, as the alliance attempted to paper over the cracks at the end of a summit in London. Nato leaders have agreed to undergo a review on the alliance’s future direction, attempting a show of unity at the end of a summit characterised by public spats and open divisions on policy.
Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference that Nato leaders did not discuss the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey views as a terrorist organisation. As the two-day summit in London drew to a close, the members vowed to stand together against threats from Russia and terrorism and the challenge of a rising China.
Before the summit marking the 70th anniversary of Nato, Ankara had refused to back a Nato defence plan for the Baltics and Poland until it received more support for its battle with the YPG, including other alliance members recognising it as a terrorist group. President Emmanuel Macron of France claimed the summit in London had taken on board his call to launch a fundamental strategic review about the alliance’s purpose, including an agreed definition of the terrorist threat and the possibility of a new strategic partnership with Moscow.
Stoltenberg also said that Nato was in favour of dialogue and a better relationship with Russia, and believed that China should be part of future arms limitations or reductions talks. Macron’s earlier comments that Nato was suffering a brain death dominated discussions and led to a decision to hold an experts’ inquiry into the modern threats facing Nato. The review will be launched under the chairmanship of Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, and will involve diplomatic and security experts. Macron admitted his intervention had rocked the boat, but insisted it was his duty to push for change.
Nato leaders, he said, had agreed to set up a committee of experts to analyse political decision-making after the French president Emmanuel Macron lamented the “brain death” of the military alliance. Under heavy political pressure, Turkey abandoned its warning to derail the summit by blocking plans for a new defence of the Baltics and Poland against Russia until Nato collectively agreed that the Kurdish YPG militia were terrorists. In the communique the leaders instead condemned all forms of terrorism and agreed to “a forward-looking reflection process” – a mechanism that allowed Turkey to lift its threat.
In a communique the leaders agreed to “a forward-looking reflection process” – a mechanism that allowed Turkey to lift its threat to block the plans for the Baltics and Poland. Macron admitted that leaders had agreed to disagree on the definition of the YPG, but added the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had clarified that Ankara would not undermine the continued allied efforts to crush Islamic State in Syria.
The Syrian Kurds had formed the backbone of the western fight against Islamic State in Syria, and the French in particular were furious that Donald Trump had sanctioned their betrayal by giving a green light to Turkey’s incursion into Syria in October. Macron claims Isis is regrouping in Syria since Turkey invaded the north-east of the country in October in an attempt to weaken the YPG. Turkey regards the YPG as one and the same as the Turkish Kurdish group the PKK, which it views as a terrorist organisation. Most Nato states do not accept that the YPG and the PKK are effectively the same group.
Stoltenberg said the reflection process would be led by him, adding that the definition of the YPG had not been discussed. He praised Turkey for endorsing the Baltic plan, saying: “We were able to take decisions and to move this alliance forward. All allies have agreed the commitment to article 5, which is one for all and all for one and that is an iron-clad commitment.” Macron also revealed Erdoğan had agreed to hold regular further consultations about its Syrian interventionwith France, Germany and the UK, a means of increasing European leverage on the subject, especially over Turkey’s plans to press as many as 2million Syrian refugees based in Turkey to return to their homeleands.
Deep division over the alliance’s purpose were exposed before and during the London summit, including over the target for member states of spending 2% on defence. Trump referred to this target in a response to a question about a video that emerged on Tuesday night that appeared to show the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, making a joke at his expense. Macron’s description of Nato as brain-dead had in part been prompted by the Turkish invasion. He believes the Syrian Kurds formed the backbone of the western fight against Islamic State in Syria, and was furious Donald Trump gave a green light to Ankara to invade.The Nato review is likely to last a year, by which time it will be clear whether Trump, seen by many as a disruptive force within the alliance, will have been re-elected.Macron insisted the strategic review would have to study the implications of a gradual American disengagement from the protection of Europe. “We have to draw conclusions from this American realignment not only from a budgetary point of view, but also from an operational capacity point of view. Europe has to be more involved. This is not an alternative to Nato, but it is a pillar within Nato.”
“I find him to be a very nice guy but you know the truth is that I called him out the fact that he’s not paying 2% and I can see he’s not very happy about it,” Trump said before a bilateral meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. Nato needed to identify its common enemy, the French president added. “Today would everyone around the table define Russia as an enemy? I do not think so”. Signalling the divisions, his comments came as the alliance issued a joint declaration saying: “Russia’s aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security; terrorism in all its forms and manifestations remains a persistent threat to us all.”
“He’s not paying 2% and he should be paying 2%. Canada – they have money.” The US president also told reporters he was cancelling a scheduled press conference for later on Wednesday. Aware that his approach has already led to fierce pushback in the Baltic States and Poland, Macron insisted he was not naive about Russia, and acknowledged there had been many violations of international law by Vladimir Putin, including over Ukraine. He said he intended first to open discussions with Germany about Russia, before broadening the discussion to the whole of Europe.Despite the open disagreements between France and the US at the summit over Syria and the role of Turkey within the alliance, Macron believes Trump is open to his initiatives since the US president agrees that European levels of defence spending need to rise and Russia has the potential to become a partner, particularly against China.But many other European states, notably Poland, the Baltics, Germany and the UK do not share Macron’s optimism about Russia. Those doubts were underlined by the German decision to expel two Russian diplomats in protest over what it said was Moscow’s lack of cooperation in an investigation into the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin, in which prosecutors suspect Russian or Chechen involvement.In its statement Nato reflected the Baltic states’ concerns by claiming Russia’s “aggressive actions” constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
The Nato review is likely to last a year, by which time it will be clear whether Trump, a disruptor of Nato for the past three years, will have been re-elected. Macron also announced he was seeking a fresh show of solidarity by the Sahel states of west Africa for the French intervention in the region. He revealed he had asked leaders from the five Sahel states – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – to Paris to clarify whether they wished French and other nations’ troops troops to remain. Large swaths of territory have been rendered ungovernable, stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Macron believes a gradual American disengagement from the protection of Europe will continue regardless of the White House occupant, and the European defence pillar, inside and outside of Nato needs to be strengthened. The French government has faced criticism at home that its 4,500 troops are making no progress in ending the terrorist threat.
Despite the open disagreements over issues such as foreign fighters in Syria and the role of Turkey within the alliance, Macron and Trump agree that European levels of defence spending needs to rise and Russia has the potential to become a closer partner if disputes in Ukraine can be settled.
Many other European states, notably Poland, the Baltics, Germany and the UK do not share Macron’s assessment of Russia. Those doubts were underscored by the German decision to expel two Russian diplomats in protest over what it said was Moscow’s lack of cooperation in an investigation into the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin, in which prosecutors suspect Russian or Chechen involvement.
In a statement Nato said Russia’s “aggressive actions” constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security, and that China’s growing influence presented opportunities and challenges for the alliance.