NATO Summit: NATO'S deadlock over the supply of military eqipment to Turkey was broken late last night after a deal was struck in the absence of France.
NATO secretary-general, Lord Robertson, announced that a consensus had been reached in the Defence Planning Committee to provide AWACS surveillance aircraft, Patriot missiles and bio-chemical defence capabilities to Turkey, the only NATO country bordering Iraq.
Lord Robertson stressed that the equipment was being provided as "defensive assistance", a key factor which was vital to win the support of Belgium and Germany for the deployment.
France, Belgium and Germany had exercised a veto on the deployment of equipment designed to protect Turkey against attack from Iraq because they argued this would make NATO a party to preparations for war.
While a member of NATO, France is not a member of the defence committee because of de Gaulle's decision to withdraw from the alliance's military structure.
Announcing the unanimous decision by the 18 committee members, Lord Robertson said: "These decisions are purely for the defence of Turkey. These decisions do not prejudge any further decisions that could be taken.
"This is not a step towards going to war. It is a reaffirmation of our support for the UN and Security Council resolution."
Lord Robertson said: "We would have preferred to have a decision by the 19 members of the North Atlantic Council. France has got its own position, it can answer for itself.
"But today was a remarkable day. . .an important signal that we will stand by an ally if that ally is under threat. This is not a step towards going to war."
In their agreement, over the wording of which the ambassadors wrangled all day, the 18 allies said they continued "to support efforts in the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis".
"This decision relates only to the defence of Turkey and is without prejudice to any other military operations by NATO, and future decisions by NATO or the UN Security Council."
Diplomats said these phrases met demands made by Belgium, whose position looked likely at one stage to make a deal impossible.
Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, had opened the door for a compromise on Saturday, saying any defence for Turkey must not imply NATO participation in military action. It must be purely defensive and allies must commit themselves to permanent monitoring of the Iraq debate in the UN Security Council.
Germany, France and Belgium last night issued a joint declaration stressing that the late-night accord "does not in any way prejudge ongoing efforts" to work within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 to reach a peaceful solution of the Iraqi crisis.The NATO agreement was reached at around 10.30 p.m.
"I'm happy to announce that we have been able collectively to overcome the impasse that we've faced for the last few days," Lord Robertson told the press conference.
"We agree on substance, we agree on timing and we agree on how to integrate our collective solidarity with Turkey," he added.
"I can now confirm that the 18 NATO allies. . .agreed today to task military planners to begin their work and to advise allies." "This is not a step towards going to war," he added.
In their joint statement afterwards, Germany, France and Belgium said they agreed any alliance members wishing to do so could provide "adequate measures" to boost Ankara's security.
They also said that not all diplomatic routes have been exhausted in seeking to resolve the Iraq crisis, affirming that war was a "last resort."
The three "underline that the use of force can only be the last resort and that not all options offered by resolution 1441 have, as yet, been fully exploited," said the statement.