Germany halts aid to Turkey

Belgian solidarity
Two Awacs aircraft were sent from the German base of Geilenkirchen to Konya in southern Turkey at the beginning of the week. Mr Struck’s comments followed similar remarks by the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, late on Wednesday night – he also said Germany’s existing deployment to Turkey was sufficient. Mr Struck was speaking after a meeting with his Belgian counterpart, André Flahaut. The two countries, along with France, had earlier blocked Nato from beginning planning for Turkey’s defence, arguing that it would send the wrong signal as diplomatic efforts continued to find a solution to the Iraq crisis.

They dropped their objections 10 days ago, under heavy pressure from the US and other Nato members.
Mr Flahaut said his visit to Berlin was to show solidarity with the joint initiative submitted to the UN Security Council by France, Germany and Russia, which is aimed at prolonging the work of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, and delaying the start of hostilities.