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American Morning
Third Day of Emergency NATO Sessions
Aired February 12, 2003 - 07:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: The NATO nations this morning are holding a third straight day of emergency meetings. They're hoping to resolve the crisis that began when France, Germany and Belgium blocked military assistance for Turkey in case of a war with Iraq.
Our Matthew Chance is at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels and joins us now.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Jonathan.
NATO again failing to break the deadlock over this issue of supplying military assistance to Turkey, a deadlock which is really paralyzing the world's biggest, most powerful military alliance. France, Germany and Belgium still very much opposed to the idea of sending immediate military assistance to Turkey, a NATO member with borders on Iraq, ahead of a possible war in the country, in Iraq.
NATO spokespeople, though, have been trying to downplay the significance of the divide, saying that new proposals are being considered.
Yves Brodeur is the chief NATO spokesman -- let's hear what he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YVES BRODEUR, NATO SPOKESMAN: The proposal as it stands now focuses strictly on -- or specifically, I should say, on the defensive needs of Turkey. So, we're talking here, as we always have, of prudent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) defensive contingency measures. This is about planning again. That hasn't changed. Allies are all working very hard to find a solution to what is a serious issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, what exactly the terms of that solution will be haven't been made clear to us yet.
The original proposal for Turkey involves sending NATO equipment, AWAC early warning aircraft, Patriot missile batteries, as well as NATO troops, to Turkish territory to help in its defenses. NATO diplomatic sources telling us the true aspect of that may have been at least scaled back, but even then, there's still no indication that France, Belgium or Germany are willing to come on-side with the other 16 allies -- Jonathan.
KARL: All right, Matthew Chance following that crisis with NATO -- thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 12, 2003 - 07:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN ANCHOR: The NATO nations this morning are holding a third straight day of emergency meetings. They're hoping to resolve the crisis that began when France, Germany and Belgium blocked military assistance for Turkey in case of a war with Iraq.
Our Matthew Chance is at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels and joins us now.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Jonathan.
NATO again failing to break the deadlock over this issue of supplying military assistance to Turkey, a deadlock which is really paralyzing the world's biggest, most powerful military alliance. France, Germany and Belgium still very much opposed to the idea of sending immediate military assistance to Turkey, a NATO member with borders on Iraq, ahead of a possible war in the country, in Iraq.
NATO spokespeople, though, have been trying to downplay the significance of the divide, saying that new proposals are being considered.
Yves Brodeur is the chief NATO spokesman -- let's hear what he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YVES BRODEUR, NATO SPOKESMAN: The proposal as it stands now focuses strictly on -- or specifically, I should say, on the defensive needs of Turkey. So, we're talking here, as we always have, of prudent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) defensive contingency measures. This is about planning again. That hasn't changed. Allies are all working very hard to find a solution to what is a serious issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, what exactly the terms of that solution will be haven't been made clear to us yet.
The original proposal for Turkey involves sending NATO equipment, AWAC early warning aircraft, Patriot missile batteries, as well as NATO troops, to Turkish territory to help in its defenses. NATO diplomatic sources telling us the true aspect of that may have been at least scaled back, but even then, there's still no indication that France, Belgium or Germany are willing to come on-side with the other 16 allies -- Jonathan.
KARL: All right, Matthew Chance following that crisis with NATO -- thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
