February 23, 2003	Sunday	Zul Hijjah 21, 1423

ISTANBUL, Feb 22: The United States gave Turkey leeway to claim more financial aid up-front on Saturday, drawing its reluctant NATO ally close to a deal to allow U.S. troops to be based in Turkey for a possible attack on Iraq.

Washington is urgently awaiting a deal and Turkish parliamentary ratification so that shiploads of US military hardware, standing by off Mediterranean ports, can be unloaded.

US officials in Washington said progress had been made on a revised aid package which would give Turkey six billion dollars, of which one billion dollars would secure an immediate 10 billion dollars loan.

Earlier proposed US packages envisaged spreading the aid over three years, whereas the latest version allows Ankara to take the cash up-front.

Turkish officials said the talks were not over and stressed agreement also hinged on pledges for the future of Iraq and details of how Turkish forces would operate alongside a U.S. deployment expected to number tens of thousands of troops.

“We have not reached the final point but we have come very close to an agreement,” Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said after a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul in Ankara.

A US source said: “Things are going well. But there are a lot of details to be worked out.”

KURDISH QUESTION: Turkey feels it was never properly compensated for damage it suffered because of the 1991 Gulf war and is determined to ensure its interests are protected this time.

Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said Turkey’s “demands were not extreme or harsh”.

The prospect of war is deeply unpopular in Muslim Turkey and the AKP government has struggled to balance its opposition to war with loyalty to the United States.

The US aid is expected to be linked to Turkey’s adherence to a 16 billion dollars International Monetary Fund loan package.

US officials say Turkey has also approached Washington about getting a short-term 10 billion dollars bridge loan.

The United States has also offered Turkey up to one billion dollars worth of oil from regional allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but Ankara has been holding out for more, US officials say.

Ankara fears a war could jeopardise economic recovery, upset the region, raise the cost of oil and batter its tourism trade.

It also wants pledges that the United States will not allow Kurds in northern Iraq to set up their own state. Ankara fears that could fuel separatism among Turkey’s millions of Kurds.

The state-run Anatolian news agency said Ankara was demanding US promises to disarm Kurdish groups in northern Iraq as well as to allow Turkey a direct role in the administration of any post-war Iraq.

Turkish troops are expected to move into northern Iraq in large numbers in the event of war, but officials say they will be there to prevent humanitarian problems and will not fight.

US-IRAQ MEETING: Retired U.S. general Anthony Zinni will meet two Iraqi generals in Athens on Wednesday as part of EU efforts to head off a war with Iraq, a major Greek Sunday newspaper reported.

To Vima, one of Greece’s most authoritative newspapers, said on Saturday that military officials from other Middle Eastern countries, including Libya, would attend the meeting organised by Greek authorities.

“Next Wednesday in Athens Anthony Zinni, President George Bush’s personal representative, will meet two Iraqi army generals from Baghdad in a rare meeting between the two countries,” the newspaper said in its front-page story.

To Vima said the two Iraqi generals were close confidantes of President Saddam Hussein and were making the trip with his blessing. The report did not name them.

Zinni, a retired Marine Corps general and former commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf, is familiar with Middle Eastern leaders.—Reuters