Rasmussen talks more moderately
Hurriyet Daily News with wires
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Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has been selected as the next NATO secretary-general, said late Saturday that he understood Turkey's concerns and he would closely cooperate with Turkey during his term in office.Turkey’s decision to drop its objections will be awarded with the post of NATO assistant secretary-general and will also get to fill the slot for NATO's envoy to Afghanistan, reported the BBC. "Our President said 'ok' after receiving information that Obama would be the guarantor of resolution of the problems relating to the reservations we had expressed," said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan.
Holding a press conference after the NATO summit in Strasbourg, Rasmussen said Turkey was an important NATO member, acting as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. Upon a question on Turkey's abstentions regarding Roj TV and the "cartoon crisis," Rasmussen said he totally understood Turkey's concerns.
Rasmussen said he would be in close cooperation with Turkey and he would establish good relations with the Muslim world. Commenting on Roj TV, Rasmussen said Denmark would take the necessary actions if the necessary proof was provided and the court made a decision on such matter.
"One of the issues is to have a Turk as one of Rasmussen’s deputies and to have our commanders in NATO command. The other issue we put forward was how to improve relations by being more sensitive over the cartoon issue," Erdoğan told the reporters in Ankara. He said Turkey also had brought up the issue of Roj TV with Obama. Roj TV has close links to the outlawed PKK, but is allowed to broadcast from Denmark.
Obama thanks Turkey
U.S. President Barack Obama thanked Turkey for its approval on Rasmussen's candidacy for NATO secretary-general, reported The Washington Times. Holding a press conference late Saturday in Strasbourg, Obama said Rasmussen was selected as the new secretary-general of NATO as a result of coordinated efforts. The U.S. president said he particularly thanked Turkey for expressing its concerns, bringing up matters related to security and for trusting Rasmussen in the end.
The White House defined Obama, who met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Rasmussen before the summit and broke the deadlock with some guarantees, as the "prince" of negotiators at the 24-hour NATO summit. National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones painted the president as the hero who saved the day.
Although the White House called Obama "prince," there was another "leader show" in front of the cameras. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threw out the protocol rulebook, missing NATO ceremonies and failing to greet his host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, because he was so engrossed in a mobile phone call. He said that he was trying to convince Erdoğan to accept Rasmussen’s candidacy, reported Reuters.
Olli Rehn angers Ankara
The comments of Olli Rehn, the European Union’s, commissioner for enlargement, nearly resulted in crisis Saturday, when he threatened Turkey that its EU membership aspiration would end if it did not remove its objection to the EU’s candidate for NATO secretary-general.
Rehn’s statement to Finnish television angered a lot Turkish officials. Rehn reportedly said that "Turkey’s opposition to Rasmussen was wrong and its objections were a bit hollow."
The first response came from President Gül at a press conference in Strasbourg, after the deal had been agreed on by Turkey and the NATO countries. "I should remind him that it’s the business of NATO and not one of the EU’s," Gül’s press conference, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan phoned Rehn to convey Turkey’s discomfort with his statements. Babacan reportedly said that "it was a NATO summit in which Turkey is a full member."