*EPF210 06/29/2004
NATO Members Bridge Differences, Achieve Unity at Istanbul Summit
(Alliance supports Iraq, out-of-area missions, transformation plans) (710)

Istanbul, Turkey -- Signaling an end to the sometimes heated debates that have taken place since the 2002 NATO Summit in Prague, members of the North Atlantic Alliance pledged in Istanbul to renew their "commitment to consult, deliberate, and act together as allies."

The June 28 Istanbul Declaration emphasized that the 55-year-old defense partnership between Europe and North America remains indispensable, indivisible, vital, resilient and multilateral.

The leaders of NATO's 26 nations, including seven new members, reached agreement on a number of issues that had been billed as potentially contentious and some previous disagreements on Iraq melted away as the United States turned over sovereignty to Iraq 48 hours earlier than scheduled.

Prior to the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had expressed frustration over having to go hat-in-hand seeking resources needed to meet the alliance's priority commitment providing security for Afghanistan. "I don't mind taking out my begging bowl once in a while; but as a standard operating procedure, this is simply intolerable," he said. Living up to that commitment is absolutely mandatory if NATO is to continue to be credible in the eyes of the world, the secretary-general said. While in Istanbul, he received the necessary pledges and NATO approved a major expansion of its current role in Afghanistan.

The excitement generated by the interim Iraqi government assuming sovereignty somewhat overshadowed the consensus achieved at the summit regarding NATO's expanded role there. Members agreed to train Iraq security forces -- with de Hoop Scheffer noting that the more qualified Iraqi forces available, the fewer coalition troops would be needed. The North Atlantic Council indicated it would give Iraq emergency status in its deliberations as it seeks other ways to assist the fledgling government.

There had been questions raised over whether the European Union was setting itself up as a military counterweight to the United States and, in the process, drawing resources away from NATO, but cooperation was achieved in Istanbul between the two organizations with NATO ending its successful nine-year stabilization mission in Bosnia by turning over responsibility for remaining problems, such as organized crime, to the EU.

Concerned about the growing gap between military capabilities of member nations, NATO acknowledged that even though much has been accomplished in making the alliance a stronger and more agile military force, transformation is an ongoing process and more needs to be accomplished to adapt capabilities for working in a strategic environment where there terrorism and weapons of mass destruction exist. The North Atlantic Council will pursue what is necessary to implement transformation and the secretary-general will issue a report at the next NATO summit.

Besides finding ways to reach unity on difficult issues, the alliance highlighted accomplishments as well as several new programs:

-- The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense Battalion, conceived at the Prague Summit, is now operational. Similarly, the NATO Response Force will be fully capable this year and the Allied Command Transformation has been established. Implementation of national Prague Capabilities Commitments continues.

-- The Istanbul Cooperative Initiative, along with an enhanced Mediterranean Dialogue, is designed to reach out to Middle Eastern and Northern African countries interested in building a cooperative relationship with NATO on defense and security matters.

-- Russia, attending the summit as a special partner through the NATO-Russia Council, announced it would take part in the alliance's naval operations against terrorism in the Mediterranean through Operation Active Endeavour (OAE). The meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission produced a similar offer.

-- NATO increased its support for OAE, which has measurably reduced illegal activities in the Mediterranean by hailing, boarding and inspecting suspect vessels, as well as escorting merchant ships through the Strait of Gibraltar.

-- NATO's Open Door policy was reaffirmed and Albania, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were encouraged to continue to work toward NATO membership. Partners in the Caucasus and Central Asia will receive special attention in an effort to strengthen their relationship with the Alliance.

The summit declaration concluded that NATO remains a "vital multilateral bridge across the Atlantic" and it will remain an "indispensable instrument in defending freedom and security."

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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