Ankara, Turkey 23 October 2003

Speech by NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honour for me to address this distinguished audience today here in Ankara. And it is always a pleasure to visit Turkey – a key NATO nation at the crossroads of Europe and the Wider Middle East. Today, that crossroads is as busy and important as it has ever been. Because during the past decade, and especially in the past two years or so, our strategic environment has changed fundamentally. The end of the East-West divide created an unprecedented opportunity to bring about a Europe whole, free and at peace. An opportunity which was seized by NATO, and which will culminate in the enlargement of the Alliance at the Istanbul Summit next year. But the end of Cold War also brought about new, unpredictable and lethal challenges, up to and including regional conflicts and civil war. Many of the newly unstable regions are close to Turkey – the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Gulf. We all saw not only the immense suffering caused by instability, but also the spill-over effects of these conflicts. 11 September 2001 marked another milestone in this changing security environment. The appalling terrorist attacks on the United States of America showed how vulnerable our societies were. Terrorist networks, whose sole aim was to kill as many people as possible, could plan and perpetuate deadly attacks in the most developed and supposedly well protected countries. Subsequent discoveries in the caves of Afghanistan showed that al Qaida was seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction – chemical, biological and radiological devises. Had they done so, there can be no doubt that these weapons would have been used against us as well. We are clearly facing a whole new spectrum of new security threats in the 21st century. Apocalyptic terrorism. Weapons of mass destruction. Failed states. Rogue states. Regional conflicts. Civil wars. These are the new challenges we have to deal with. To respond effectively to these fundamental changes in international security, NATO had to change as well. And that is just what we did. The Alliance radically transformed itself to be able to respond to the new threats and challenges. Of course we retained our basic values, especially the commitment of all member states to defend each other in times of conflict -- an attack against one Ally is still an attack against all Allies. But in all other respects there has been nothing short of a transformation in the way we view, prepare for, and respond to risks and threats to our security. Turkey’s role and place within the Alliance has transformed in parallel. During the Cold War, anyone who looked at a map could see that Turkey was a crucial pillar in defending the Alliance’s “southern flank” against the threat of the Warsaw Pact. And NATO was there to help defend Turkey from a potential attack by the Soviet Union. In today’s much more complex security environment, Turkey is no longer in the southern flank. It is on the front line. Turkey has, by definition, a pivotal role in dealing with the 21st century threats. You only have to look at the new threats and where they are coming from. With strong historical, cultural and economic links to Central Asia and the Middle East, Turkey is a vital bridge to project security in these areas. As a secular and democratic country, it is a unique model for the Muslim World. And as a European country integrated into Euro-Atlantic structures all along, it is uniquely placed to play a mentor’s role for those countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus and others who want to draw closer to us. I know that Turkey is aware of its potential. I know that this potential does not only bring opportunities, but also responsibilities. You have lived up to your responsibilities so far. I know that you will continue to do so. You will continue to work hard to contribute to shaping the international security for the better. Turkey’s position has also brought difficult challenges. Over the past years, it has been particularly vulnerable to refugee flows, economic hardships and terrorism. But it has coped well. And it has always known that it is not alone. On the contrary. NATO, with its solidarity, its unity, and its commitment to mutual defence has always stood by Turkey. And will continue to do so. NATO never ducks it responsibilities. You can see this in the Balkans, where NATO forces halted two bloody wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, and prevented another in Macedonia. We are still engaged in maintaining stability there. But our long-term strategy is to help the countries of this region to become peaceful, democratic and prosperous members of Europe. And we are making significant progress in this. Turkey has always been a devoted supporter of these policies within the Alliance. It helped our objectives not only by troop contributions but also by bringing important insights and analysis to the table. You could also see the Alliance’s solidarity with Turkey against the threat from Saddam’s Iraq last February. Yes, it took a little time and a lot of debate for NATO to decide to send defensive help to Turkey. But there was never any disagreement on the importance, nor the necessity to assist Turkey – only on the timing of when that assistance should be sent. After eleven days, NATO’s members reached agreement. Defensive military help was sent. And the Alliance fulfilled its most fundamental purpose – to help protect member countries under threat. A number of commentators wrongly analysed the debate of last February as the end of the Alliance. Far from facing a sudden death, however, NATO recovered quickly and moved on to take over the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and to support Poland and Spain in the stabilisation force in Iraq. Within a couple of months the decade-long argument over whether NATO could or should act beyond Europe was confined to the history books. So NATO remains the transatlantic organisation where Turkey can shape international security together with America and the most of Europe. NATO remains the most credible and capable defence and security organisation in the world, within which Turkey can best defend its security interests. And the Alliance has transformed itself radically to better deal with the threats of most direct interest to Turkey today. So what is new NATO all about? In short, new missions, new missions, new capabilities and new partnerships. These are the components of the fundamental adaptation of the Alliance, which culminated in a blueprint for transformation agreed at last November’s Prague Summit. This transformation will be consolidated and taken further at next year’s summit. First, new members. We are preparing to welcome seven new members in Istanbul. This will be the biggest ever expansion of the Alliance. All seven countries have been working hard to implement difficult political, economic and military reforms, and to become real providers of security. Istanbul will also make clear that NATO’s door remains open to additional new members in the future. Enlargement is not only a success for NATO, but for Turkey. Turkey has been a staunch supporter of robust enlargement, especially one that included Bulgaria and Romania. You wanted to see a consolidated, continuous security space created from the Baltic to the Black Sea. We have achieved that. Second, new missions. A crucial element of the new transatlantic consensus achieved at Prague was the strong commitment of NATO Allies to go wherever necessary to preserve their security, and to defend against threats from wherever they may come. At the heart of this decision lay the common understanding the 21st century threats can only be dealt with at their source. This was the understanding that led to the Alliance’s historical decisions to take over the peace mission in Afghanistan and to support Allies in the stabilisation force in Iraq. In Afghanistan, NATO’s leadership was welcome by all – the UN, the NGO community, Afghanistan’s neighbours and, most importantly, by the Afghans themselves. Even before the Alliance arrived in Kabul, there was increasing pressure on us to extend the mission beyond the Afghan capital. The new UN Security Council adopted recently gives us the basis on which to press ahead. All NATO nations are aware that the challenge in Afghanistan is enormous. But they are equally aware that if we abandon the Afghan people once again, Afghanistan will again become a failed state and a safe haven for terrorist networks. We would also have lost the once-in-a-lifetime chance to destroy the pernicious Afghan drug trade. Again, Turkey’s role in helping the Alliance succeed in this extremely challenging job cannot be overstated. You know the region and its people well. You led very ably the International Security Assistance Force for several months last year. I have told the Turkish authorities that your contribution to our common mission on Afghanistan is real value added. NATO’s current role in Iraq is much more limited. We have providing planning logistic and communications support to two NATO members, Poland and Spain, in fulfilling their mission in the stabilisation force. More may eventually come our way. Meanwhile, the Alliance would, I am sure, extend similar support to other Allies who may require it in contributing to the Iraq stabilisation operation. The third element of new NATO is the new capabilities. As the Alliance takes on more and more responsibilities, and increasingly operating outside its traditional boundaries, it needs forces that are able to deploy quickly and over long distances, stay as long as necessary, and complete their missions successfully. We therefore launched a major overhaul of our military capabilities. We have made our command structure leaner, more modern, and more flexible. We are creating the cutting edge NATO Response Force, to be able to react quickly to the most demanding threats to our security. And each NATO country is committed to developing specific capabilities that are essential to modern military operations. Turkey is fully part of this process. It will host, in Izmir, the important Southern Air Component of our new Command Structure. It is making a sizeable contribution to the Response Force and is preparing its 3rd Corps Headquarters in Istanbul as a high readiness HQ deployable in NATO missions. Turkey has also undertaken to strengthen its capabilities in key areas for future Alliance missions. Because like other NATO members, it knows that 21st century threats can not be defeated by 20th century arms. But all NATO countries must also realise that capabilities must be usable. Paper armies contribute nothing. Without deployable and useable forces, we will not be able to meet our increasing commitments. This is my strong message to all NATO capitals, and I repeated it here today. Today, the 18 non-US NATO Allies have 1.4 million regular soldiers and 1 million reserves. But with only 55,000 troops currently deployed, many of them say they are over-stretched. If so, this is a waste of resources. I am aware that Turkey does not feel it has had its share of the peace dividend since the end of the Cold War. As I outlined at the beginning of my speech, there is no doubt that you are in a rough neighbourhood. But NATO’s enlargement, stabilisation operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and constructive dialogue with our Partners like Russia will benefit Turkey directly. With the Alliance’s second largest army, Turkey can and should contribute more to NATO missions. Because NATO’s success is Turkey’s success. The last, but by no means least, component of new NATO is new partnerships. Even the world’s most successful Alliance can not, and should not, work alone. I have no doubt that the summit will reconfirm the strategic value of NATO’s growing web of partnerships. NATO is engaging your Black Sea neighbours Ukraine and Russia in constructive dialogue and concrete co-operation. Our partnership with Russia in particular has already achieved important results from fight with terrorism to consultations on theatre missile defence and prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to military cooperation. Through intensified political dialogue, we address everything of mutual interest with our Russian partner. This has become a major building block of Euro-Atlantic security today. The Alliance is also reaching out to countries further afield. Of particular interest to Turkey, Central Asian and Caucasian countries participate in our 46-nation Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, where we are building a wider common security culture. These states also benefit from NATO’s practical defence co-operation and assistance programmes. We are now offering countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus more individualised, tailor-made co-operation programmes and we are encouraging them to work together in their regions to tackle cross-border security problems such as organised crime and illegal migration. Turkey acts as an important guide for many of these states to make full use of what NATO has to offer. We are in parallel passing ahead with NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue. These seven nations – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia - are increasingly important to us. Several are very interested in working more closely with the Alliance. Incidentally, our so-called “19+7” meetings bring Israel and the other six Mediterranean Dialogue countries together around one table in a constructive not destructive relationship. Our web of partnerships also includes that other great organisation of the European political landscape, the European Union. For a long time our relationship was problematic because we worked in isolation from each other. Our two organisations were based in the same city but lived on different planets. But that has now changed completely. NATO is building a genuine strategic partnership with the European Union. Early this year we completed the vital “Berlin plus” agreement that provides a blueprint for practical NATO-EU cooperation without unnecessary duplication or destructive competition. This has already allowed the EU to follow NATO’s operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia last Spring. It should also help the Union to gradually assume more responsibility for security in the Balkans, starting perhaps in Bosnia. Co-operation in crisis management is a first important step in the right direction. But we must go further. We must explore co-operation across the whole spectrum of our shared interests. This, after all, is what a true strategic partnership is all about. And it is exactly the kind of outcome that Turkey stands to gain from as a European NATO member and a European Union membership candidate. Ladies and Gentlemen, Ataturk once said that Turkey should not be a consumer, but a producer. Throughout NATO’s history, your country has done just that – not consuming security, but producing it. Today, Turkey is still a key NATO country. Its role is more complex, more varied – but potentially more vital than ever. As a result, Turkey has the opportunity to play a decisive role in shaping our common security for the better. It will do so as part of an Alliance that is transforming to meet the threats and challenges of the 21st century. A NATO that works for all its members, all the time. Thank you.