Turkey not objecting to NATO-EU plans on Kosovo

Turkey not objecting to NATO-EU plans on Kosovo

"We don't have any objection concerning bilateral cooperation between the two international organizations. However what we ask for is the conducting of this cooperation within the framework of the existing agreement. This is not an objection, but an expectation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman told reporters on Thursday at a weekly press briefing.

Earlier this week EU diplomats told Reuters in Brussels that Ankara wants Brussels to persuade EU member Greek Cyprus to drop its veto over Ankara's bid to become an associate member of the European Defense Agency (EDA), the body set up to nurture EU-wide defense industry policy, and that it also wants to be consulted more on European security policy, arguing that it is already a major participant in EU-led military operations.

"What Ankara wants is to take pains over the framework of cooperation between the two bodies," Bilman said, as he emphasized that Ankara has always supported the European Security and Defense Policy.

Turkey asserts that an agreement reached at the EU Copenhagen Summit in December 2002 to allow the EU to have political and military arrangements in place to access NATO assets and operational planning capabilities, the so-called Berlin-Plus arrangements, provides a sufficient framework for such bilateral cooperation between the two bodies.

Greek Cypriot efforts are based on the assumption this existing agreement should be expanded to new members of the bloc that joined in May 2004. Greek Cyprus wants to gain further visibility for its illegitimate recognition by the international community as the official representative of the entire island, diplomatic sources said.

“Turkey is already contributing to the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led international force responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo, with 400 troops, and this number will rise to 700 as of next week when Turkey will undertake the command of the multi-national force in the southern part of the region on Tuesday,” Bilman noted.

The EU will take over policing of the breakaway Serbian province from the UN later this year if a UN plan granting Kosovo effective independence is passed. Some 1,500 EU staff will work alongside NATO's 16,000-plus peacekeepers and the two bodies want to avoid potential for conflict by setting out clear guidelines for how the two forces will cooperate.