Turkey Will Not Ask NATO For Collective Defense Against Syria – Analysts

Ankara, June 26, IRNA – Emergency Session of NATO would be held in Brussels Tuesday under such conditions that it is not predicted that Turkey would in accordance with Article 5 of NATO Charter ask its member states for collective defense against Syria. According to NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu's earlier announcement, Turkey has according to Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asked for a consultative session of that organization. According to that article, each of the NATO member states at any time that its territorial integrity, independence, or security would be put at stake, can ask for an emergency NATO session, while according to Article 5, the member state demands collective defense of the NATO members against a country that has caused the threat. Lungescu added, 'The Tuesday NATO session would be held hoping to find a solution for the Turkey-Syria conflict.' Under such conditions that Turkey has asked for the NATO emergency session under Article 4 following the downing of an F-4 Turkish fighter jet by Syria, the possibility of demanding collective NATO member states defense against Syria is very minute. In their Tuesday session the NATO member countries would most probably express solidarity with Turkey in this respect and send a message to the Syrian government that if such a move would be repeated Damascus would not remain unpunished. Political analysts believe knowing that the NATO members have not reached final consensus regarding Syria, and not wishing to create a gap among them and weaken their solidarity, Turkey would not demand for implementation of Article 5 and collective defense against Syria. These analysts argue, 'Under the current conditions it does not seem that the NATO member states have reach consensus over military intervention in Syria, while some members of that organization are worried about Russia's stand in that regard and the United States, too, is not after adventurism before the US presidential elections. According to these analysts, Turkey is presently after achieving solidarity with its allies in NATO in confrontation with Syria's antagonist move, and in addition to that Ankara would keep on issuing warnings that it reserves the right for retaliatory military moves. NATO said it will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss Turkey's claim that Syria shot down one of its warplanes in international airspace and not inside its own territory, a spokesperson for the Atlantic Alliance said Tuesday. 'Turkey has requested consultations under Article 4' of NATO's founding treaty under which member countries can request a meeting if their security is threatened, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said, adding that the meeting would take place on Tuesday. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Turkey's television on Sunday that an investigation by Ankara into the incident concluded that its plane was 'shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical miles from Syria'. Davutoglu said the plane was shot down shortly after it had 'momentarily violated Syrian airspace' but added that the unarmed plane, on a mission to test Turkey's radar defenses, had posed no threat to Syria at any time. Turkey called for the NATO meeting early on Sunday: 'We will bring this affair before public opinion and international law in the name of Turkey's honor.' Syria has acknowledged shooting down the F-4 phantom jet after it violated its airspace, but insists it only identified it as a Turkish fighter after the fact. 'What happened was an accident and not an assault as some like to say,' Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jihad Maqdissi told the Al-Watan pro-government daily on Sunday. 'Syria was merely exercising its right and sovereign duty and defense,' he said. 'There is no enmity between Syria and Turkey, but political tension (exists) between the two countries.' /end