Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül has announced in Brussels that his country will not veto the Danish prime minister if he becomes a candidate to the post of secretary-general of NATO.

“We are not against anyone, and not Rasmussen either, if he becomes a candidate. He is one of the most important and successful prime ministers in Europe,” Gül says.

Turkey has previously been seen as the primary obstacle to Fogh Rasmussen as a choice for the new secretary-general of NATO. Unsourced and sourced comments from Turkish officials in recent weeks have said that Turkey was not in favour of Fogh Rasmussen as a result of his standing in the Muslim world.

“The important thing is that NATO is successful. We shouldn’t speak so much about religious issues, as that is an issue that splits,” says Gül.

EU
Gül’s statement that Turkey would not veto Anders Fogh Rasmussen comes after the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced on Thursday that the European Union hoped to open two new chapters in Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, including the Energy Chapter, before the end of the Czech EU Presidency.