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FRANCE SAYS NO WORD FROM TURKEY ON MILITARY FREEZE
By Francois Murphy
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it had received no
word from Turkey on Ankara's suspension of bilateral military ties,
the latest step in a row over whether Armenians suffered genocide at
the hands of Ottoman Turks.
General Ilker Basbug, head of Turkish land forces, said on Wednesday
Ankara was suspending military ties with Paris in protest at the
French parliament's support for a bill making it a crime to deny that
the killings were genocide.
"To my knowledge, we have not received official word from the Turkish
authorities on this subject," French Foreign Ministry spokesman
Jean-Baptiste Mattei said.
The French Defence Ministry said it had only heard of the move through
the media and called for caution until Ankara told Paris exactly what
was happening.
"I think we should not prejudge the evolution of these relations. It is
not the sign of a crisis or of a major difficulty," Defence Ministry
spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau told reporters, adding the Turkish
government had said nothing.
The French National Assembly approved the Armenian bill last month,
triggering threats of a trade boycott by Turkey, which strongly
rejects the claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War One.
The French bill is unlikely to make it into law because it is opposed
by President Jacques Chirac, but many Turks see it as further proof
that opponents of its bid to join the European Union are gaining the
upper hand.
NATO said Turkey had assured it that the freeze would not affect
alliance operations.
NO CONSEQUENCES YET
The two NATO allies work side by side in the Afghan capital Kabul as
part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
which is battling Taliban insurgents in a mission NATO says is vital
to its credibility.
"Our initial understanding is that the Turkish decision will not
affect NATO. It is focused on bilateral military activities, not NATO
operations," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.
He said that assessment was based on statements by the Turkish
delegation at NATO and ISAF officials.
France's Bureau said there had been a "cooling" in military
relations with Turkey in 2001 after the French parliament passed a
law recognising the 1915 killings as genocide, but they had returned
to normal since then.
"I think we should not consider that we are in a totally new
situation. We have already known periods of cooling in bilateral
relations. Until now, I do not see why that would change. They have
never taken on a definitive character," he said.
"We have no practical consequences to date of the announcement made
last night," he added.
French defence firms view NATO member Turkey, which has a fast-growing
economy, as a lucrative market for their hardware.
(Additional reporting by Mark John in Brussels)
By Francois Murphy
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 16 2006
PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it had received no
word from Turkey on Ankara's suspension of bilateral military ties,
the latest step in a row over whether Armenians suffered genocide at
the hands of Ottoman Turks.
General Ilker Basbug, head of Turkish land forces, said on Wednesday
Ankara was suspending military ties with Paris in protest at the
French parliament's support for a bill making it a crime to deny that
the killings were genocide.
"To my knowledge, we have not received official word from the Turkish
authorities on this subject," French Foreign Ministry spokesman
Jean-Baptiste Mattei said.
The French Defence Ministry said it had only heard of the move through
the media and called for caution until Ankara told Paris exactly what
was happening.
"I think we should not prejudge the evolution of these relations. It is
not the sign of a crisis or of a major difficulty," Defence Ministry
spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau told reporters, adding the Turkish
government had said nothing.
The French National Assembly approved the Armenian bill last month,
triggering threats of a trade boycott by Turkey, which strongly
rejects the claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against
Armenians during World War One.
The French bill is unlikely to make it into law because it is opposed
by President Jacques Chirac, but many Turks see it as further proof
that opponents of its bid to join the European Union are gaining the
upper hand.
NATO said Turkey had assured it that the freeze would not affect
alliance operations.
NO CONSEQUENCES YET
The two NATO allies work side by side in the Afghan capital Kabul as
part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
which is battling Taliban insurgents in a mission NATO says is vital
to its credibility.
"Our initial understanding is that the Turkish decision will not
affect NATO. It is focused on bilateral military activities, not NATO
operations," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said.
He said that assessment was based on statements by the Turkish
delegation at NATO and ISAF officials.
France's Bureau said there had been a "cooling" in military
relations with Turkey in 2001 after the French parliament passed a
law recognising the 1915 killings as genocide, but they had returned
to normal since then.
"I think we should not consider that we are in a totally new
situation. We have already known periods of cooling in bilateral
relations. Until now, I do not see why that would change. They have
never taken on a definitive character," he said.
"We have no practical consequences to date of the announcement made
last night," he added.
French defence firms view NATO member Turkey, which has a fast-growing
economy, as a lucrative market for their hardware.
(Additional reporting by Mark John in Brussels)