Azerbaijan, Baku, March 31 / Trend , R.Hafizoglu/
At present Turkey does not have a concrete position on Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's candidature, Head of the Turkish delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Vahid Erdem said.
"Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's some statements and actions toward Turkey and the Islamic world weakened his position," Erdem told Trend .
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the most real candidate for the NATO new secretary general position at the moment. A final decision will be passed at the NATO jubilee summit to be held in three cities, including French Strasbourg, as well as German Kiel and Baden-Baden on April 3-4. The United States supported the Danish premier's candidature followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
Danish Premier Rasmussen was one of the first persons who fully supported the U.S. war against international terrorism in 2001 and authorized to dispatch the kingdom's giant military contingent to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Danish premier's name was also connected with publishing Prophet Mohammad's caricatures in the Danish media in 2005. At that time, the Danish prime minister refused to condemn journalists basing on freedom of word. Turkey is still waiting for Rasmussen's apology.
Turkey does not object to any candidates for the NATO secretary general position, Erdem believes. However, Rasmussen's attitude toward Turkey alerts official Ankara, he said.
"As NATO is not only trans-Atlantic alliance, but also an organization which must keep close relations with all world communities and favor dialogue with the Islamic world," Erdem said.
Therefore, any candidates for the position of the NATO head must know well problems in the world's every region, he said. This is a necessary condition for the alliance's head, Erdem said.
Recently, there have been positive changes in the Danish candidate's attitude toward Turkey and the Islamic world, he said. "Rasmussen has already changed his position toward the Kurdish "Rozh" TV channel broadcasting in Denmark," Erdem said.
Turkey has a negative position toward presence of the Kurdish TV channel in Denmark and Ankara officials repeatedly asked to close the TV channel, but official Copenhagen did not take this step.
According to Erdem, Turkey will take these changes into account while electing a candidate for the NATO secretary general position. However, it should be admitted that Rasmussen is the most real candidate receiving support of U.S. and Europe, Erdem said.
If he holds more moderate position, Turkey will not impede his election, Erdem believes. "I think, Turkish President Gul will discuss Rasmussen's candidature with U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Istanbul," he said.
If the Danish candidate is elected the NATO Secretary General, he will be convinced of Turkey's importance for the alliance and its strategic importance, as well, Erdem believes.
"All former NATO heads had good and close relations with Turkey and must be loyal to this tradition," Erdem said.
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