BLINKEN SAYS US WILL NEVER TAKE NATO FOR GRANTED

▶ Turkey remains a ‘valued ally’ and members will be consulted on Afghanistan withdrawal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday that Turkey would remain in the fold and that all members of the alliance would be consulted on Washington’s plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

He said the alliance could return stronger after a period of internal divisions, and that Turkey should be kept at the heart of transatlantic ties.

“The last thing we can afford to do is take this alliance for granted,” Mr Blinken said.

Despite public differences with Ankara, the US and Nato have a strong interest in keeping Turkey in the alliance.

“Turkey is a long-standing and valued ally,” Mr Blinken told a panel event at Nato headquarters, even if it was “no secret” the US and others were opposed to Ankara’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and its acquisition of S-400 missiles from Russia.

Having already bought Russian weapons, Turkey briefly blocked Nato defence plans in 2019 and launched an offensive on US-backed rebels in Syria, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to assert that Nato was “experiencing brain death”.

Mr Blinken also spoke about US President Joe Biden’s policy on withdrawing from the two-decade engagement in Afghanistan.

“We’ve said, we’ve made a commitment: in together, adapt together, and when the time is right, out together,” he said. “That remains the guiding principle. The other guiding principle is that the reason we were in Afghanistan in the first place is because of the terrorist threat that was emanating from there.”

European allies welcomed the change in tone, and said they were once again being consulted on strategy.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg set out areas where the alliance could modernise its focus – from climate measures to more sustainable funding of military operations – and stressed the need for US support.

He said there was “no way to hide that over the last few years we had some difficult discussions within our alliance, and we have seen some differences”.