Turkey defies allies over new NATO chief

By Crispian Balmer

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Turkey blocked Europe's candidate to head NATO, souring a summit marking the military alliance's 60th anniversary and opening a new rift between Ankara and its Western European allies.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen had emerged as the front-runner to replace the outgoing NATO secretary-general but Turkey objected on Friday, criticising his handling of a row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that offended Muslims.

U.S. President Barack Obama, making his first overseas tour since taking office in January, had signalled to Europe that he would support Rasmussen.

NATO officials put a brave face on the deadlock and said talks would continue on Saturday, the second and last day of the summit that is co-hosted by France and Germany.

"We don't have consensus yet," NATO spokesman James Appathurai told a news conference, adding: "We will get there. This alliance always gets there."

The leaders had hoped to reach a decision on Friday, clearing the way for detailed discussions on Saturday over Afghanistan with Obama promoting his new Afghan strategy and keen for Europe to do more to bolster the war effort.

Anti-NATO protesters have vowed to disrupt Saturday's meeting after two days of often violent clashes in France, with police firing hundreds of rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets to keep demonstrators out of the city of Strasbourg.

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