NATO Ready to Defend Turkey

 NATO Ready to Defend Turkey

BURSSELS, BELGIUM — NATO's secretary general says the alliance is prepared to defend Turkey against attacks from Syria if necessary.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is prepared to act, but he hopes it will not have to do so.

“We have all plans in place to protect and defend Turkey, but we do hope that it will not be necessary.  We do hope that all parties involved will do their utmost to avoid an escalation¹ of the crisis and focus on finding a political solution to the conflict,” he said.

Rasmussen says NATO defense² ministers did not discuss the situation in Syria or the tension on its border with Turkey Tuesday, during the first day of a two-day meeting.  But he says it is up to the United Nations Security Council to take whatever action is necessary to try to force the Syrian government to work toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“I strongly regret that so far the Security Council has failed in finding an agreement on a legally-binding resolution that could send such a strong message to the Syrian leadership,” said Rasmussen.

Russia and China have blocked any Security Council call for the use of force.

The more than year-long Syrian conflict has spilled over into NATO-member Turkey in recent days, with artillery³ shells landing on the Turkish side of the border and causing casualties.  Syria says its forces did not mean to hit Turkey, but the Turkish military has fired back.  The tension resulted in an emergency NATO ambassadors' meeting, which expressed solidarity⁴ with Turkey, but officials say there is no immediate⁵ plan to do more.

A senior NATO military official said the alliance has sufficient military power to have a significant impact on the Syria conflict, but there will not be any move unless there is a decision by political leaders to intervene.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

4 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。