Ankara looks to Washington for NATO contention

Why is Sarkozy being so discreet? Could it be because France’s return to the military wing is a deal struck behind the scenes between Paris and Washington under the benevolent consent of both London and Berlin?

It seems that United States and France has struck a deal whereby Washington agreed that two top NATO posts will be given to French generals. None of the members of the Alliance seem to object to that deal. Except Turkey.

France would like to rejoin the military structures of NATO by a simple statement. "France withdrew from the Alliance’s military wing by a simple statement. So all it takes to return is a simple statement," say the French. "It is not that simple," say the Turks. Legally, Turkey’s objection seems a bit questionable. According to a Reuters story, Alliance officials say any decision to rejoin the structures is a decision "for France rather than one requiring a consensus vote by the 26 NATO members." "Nothing prevents a French official to come and sit at a meeting of the military officials," a diplomat familiar with NATO structures told me. But top NATO posts are certainly not distributed by the U.S. and it certainly requires the consent of Alliance members."This is not a legal issue. This is a political issue," said a Turkish official. Apparently, the Turkish government feels a bit na?ve sitting peacefully at a NATO table and being acquiescent to French re-entry, while the latter is so openly obstructing Turkish entry to the European Union.

Basically, the Turks want a gesture from the French. The expectation is for the French to have a more favorable attitude on opening new chapters at accession talks. Ankara also expects a better understanding of Turkish positions on the contentious issues of European Security and Defense Policy. The fact that Turkey is perceived by the EU countries as obstructing cooperation between the EU and NATO, irks Ankara which believes that the problem actually stems from the fact that the EU has not remained loyal to previously agreed arrangements.

Apparently, the French has not taken up this issue with Turkey on bilateral basis. They have asked for intervention from the Americans. And now the Turks are expecting Washington to mediate. The Turkish bureaucracy is hoping that Washington would rather try to convince the French for some kind of a gesture instead of bluntly telling the Turkish side not to raise a dissenting voice.

The issue will first of all prove to be a test case for the ability of the new US administration to mediate. We will see to what degree the Obama administration would be willing to spend efforts to make a case for the Turks. Because let’s face it; if Washington is not sympathetic to the Turkish case, it will be highly difficult for Turkey to stand up and openly obstruct French re-entry. At least the Turkish administration seems to be unfavorable to a brinkmanship approach.

The issue will also prove to be a test case for the AKP government’s or Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s style of diplomacy. Will the Prime Minister continue his Kasımpaşa style and call for "eye for an eye" approach or will he endorse a more sophisticated course of action. We’ll stay tuned.