NATO
Impasse continues
NATO members have again failed to resolve their differences over policy towards Iraq.
A compromise proposal on defence plans for Turkey was presented by NATO chief Lord Robertson to a meeting of the North Atlantic defence alliance in Brussels tonight but France, Germany and Belgium, maintained their opposition.
Another meeting of NATO ambassadors may be held tomorrow afternoon to try again to break the deadlock.
Diplomats say the new plan is the result of intense overnight negotiations aimed at resolving one of the worst crises in NATO's 54-year history.
The crisis began two days ago when France, Germany and Belgium blocked plans to begin shipping defensive equipment to Turkey, the only NATO member state that borders Iraq.
They argued that such a move would signal an end to diplomatic efforts to avert war.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has meanwhile confirmed that he will attend a meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday in a bid to head off a Franco-German effort to expand and extend the mission of weapons inspectors in Iraq.
