Page 3 - atoday

UP FRONT A3
Tuesday 6 October 2015

NATO denounces Russia over United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries
reach ambitious, controversial trade deal
violating Turkish airspace: AP
P. WISEMAN terpiece of his international able, unlike in past agree-
S. FRASER C. S. RUGABER agenda. ments.”
V. ISACHENKOV AP Business Writers Obama has pursued the The president has to wait
Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hav- pact against the objec- 90 days before signing the
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In a signal of new tensions ing hammered out an am- tions of many lawmakers in pact, and only then will
raised by Moscow’s airstrikes in Syria, NATO denounced bitious trade deal with 11 his own Democratic Party Congress begin the pro-
Russia on Monday for “irresponsible behavior” after its Pacific Rim countries, the and instead forged rare cess of voting on it.
warplanes violated Turkish airspace, and Turkey warned Obama administration now consensus with Republi- As a result, a vote on the
that any future aerial intruder would be treated like an faces a potentially tougher cans. TPP likely will not happen
enemy. task: selling the deal to a Trade unions and other crit- until well into 2016, where it
Turkey, a NATO member, mentioned only one Russian skeptical Congress. ics say the deal will expose is likely to get ensnarled in
intrusion over the weekend, but the military alliance The countries reached a American workers to for- the politics of a presiden-
said a second Russian jet also violated Turkish airspace
Sunday. White House press secretary Josh Earnest answers questions during the daily briefing in the
The intrusions, which come amid deep suspicions and Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. The U.S. and
mutual distrust between Moscow and the West over 11 other Pacific Rim countries have agreed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious and
Russia’s military action in Syria, highlight the potential controversial trade pact that cuts trade barriers, sets labor and environmental standards and
for clashes between Russian and allied forces in the in- protects multinational corporations’ intellectual property.
creasingly crowded skies over Syria.
Russia sought to play down the incident. Defense Min- (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
istry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the
jet accidentally entered Turkish airspace for “several contentious trade pact eign competition and cost tial election year. Congress
seconds” Saturday while returning to its base about 30 Monday that cuts trade jobs. Given the opposition, can only give the deal an
kilometers (20 miles) south of the border with Turkey. He barriers, sets labor and the pact’s “fate in Con- up-or-down vote. It can’t
said the violation happened due to poor weather in environmental standards gress is at best uncertain,” amend the agreement.
the area, which forced the pilot to approach the base and protects multinational said Lori Wallach, a lead- Many of the tariff reduc-
from the north. corporations’ intellectual ing TPP critic and director tions and other changes
Russia has taken measures “to prevent any such inci- property after marathon of Public Citizen’s Global will be phased in over sev-
dents in the future,” he added. The ministry said Russia negotiating sessions in At- Trade Watch. eral years, so benefits to
had nothing to do with the second alleged incursion lanta through the week- Obama has cast the agree- the U.S. economy could
Sunday. end. The Trans-Pacific ment as good for Ameri- take time to materialize.
NATO called Russia’s actions “irresponsible behavior,” Partnership is designed to cans workers and crucial Peter Petri, a professor of
and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Washing- encourage trade between to countering China and international finance at
ton is conferring with Turkish leaders about the airspace the United States, Austra- expanding U.S. influence in Brandeis University, says he
violation. lia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, the Asia-Pacific. doesn’t expect the deal to
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. was Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, “This partnership levels the lead to any U.S. job gains.
“quite concerned” by Russia’s action, describing it as a New Zealand, Peru, Singa- playing field for our farmers, But he forecasts it will boost
provocation. pore and Vietnam. Togeth- ranchers, and manufactur- U.S. incomes by $77 billion
“Given the stakes and sensitivity around the Russian mil- er, the countries account ers by eliminating more a year, or 0.4 percent, by
itary action in that region of the world, I think our con- for 40 percent of world than 18,000 taxes that vari- 2025, mostly by creating
cerns are well-founded,” Earnest said. economic output. ous countries put on our export-oriented jobs that
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also expressed con- “We think it helps define products,” Obama said in will pay more, even as oth-
cern, telling reporters during a trip to Chile that the inci- the rules of the road for the a statement. “It includes er jobs are lost.
dent could have led to Turkey shooting down the Rus- Asia-Pacific region,” said the strongest commitments Another target for oppo-
sian plane, and that Russia has a responsibility to act U.S. Trade Rep. Michael Fro- on labor and the environ- nents was drug companies’
within international standards. man. For President Barack ment of any trade agree- efforts to protect some of
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian Obama, the trade deal is ment in history, and those their products from cheap-
warplanes had committed “unacceptable violations of a major victory on a cen- commitments are enforce- er foreign competition. q
Turkish airspace.”
“Russia’s actions are not contributing to the security
and stability of the region. I call on Russia to fully respect
NATO airspace and to avoid escalating tensions with
the alliance,” he said.
The Kremlin voiced hope that the incident wouldn’t
damage its friendly ties with Ankara.
“Bilateral relations with Turkey are quite comprehensive,
and they are solidly based on mutual benefits,” Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said,
adding that Moscow was looking into the incursion.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Russia had
said the plane intruded “by mistake.”
“They said they are respectful of Turkey’s borders and
that it would not happen again,” he told Haber Turk
television.
But Davutoglu warned that Turkey would enforce its
rules of engagement in case of intrusions, which call for
treating anyone approaching its border from Syria as
an enemy.
“The Turkish armed forces have their orders,” he said,
saying it will take the necessary steps “even if it’s a bird
that violates Turkey’s border. ... Our rules of engage-
ment are clear.”q