ANKARA, Feb 23: The leader of Turkey’s ruling party Sunday cast fresh doubt on US plans to invade Iraq from Turkey, saying there were still no plans for a parliamentary debate on the issue on the eve of a crucial cabinet meeting.

“There is nothing in the works for the moment,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development party (AKP).

The Turkish government had earlier been expected to give its approval to a deal that would allow tens of thousands of US troops into Turkey to launch an invasion of neighbouring Iraq, after Prime Minister Abdullah Gul announced a special cabinet meeting on Monday.

Erdogan had himself hinted that the parliament could be asked to approve the deployment of US forces the following day, if sufficient progress had been made in negotiations over a proposed package of financial aid from Washington.

Turkey is insisting on a written deal involving a multi-billion-dollar compensation package and political undertakings over the shape of Iraq after the ouster of President Saddam Hussein before parliament is asked to approve the presence of US forces.

Ankara is particularly anxious to avoid the emergence of an independent state in the Kurdish-dominated north of a post-Saddam Iraq.

Turkish military officials have also suggested the army is planning attacks on armed militants from the country’s own Kurdish separatist movement, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), believed to be hiding across the Iraqi border.

Ankara officials said a deal could include economic, political and military commitments, including a possible six billion-dollar grant — part of which could be used to obtain over 20 billion dollars in loan guarantees — as well as joint US-Turkish control of northern Iraq after the invasion.

Detailed talks continued over the weekend on issues ranging from how Iraqi Kurdish forces might be disarmed after the war to whether US forces will pay value-added taxes on petrol in Turkey, officials here said.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, has assured Turkey that Congress would vote swiftly on economic aid once the White House and Ankara reach an agreement, a congressional aide said Friday.

But Turkish officials, who fear Congress could change its mind, want the US administration to sign a memorandum on all aspects of the deal.

“We’re having continued good conversations with Turkey, and I anticipate they will continue for a little bit longer,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Saturday.

“I think it’s fair to say that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to,” he said. “Turkey remains an ally of the United States who has taken a very difficult issue seriously.”

Both sides are “very close to an agreement,” Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said during a Saturday evening television interview, adding that “several points of contention had finally been overcome.”

The diplomatic tone between the two NATO allies has improved markedly over the past few days after Turkish leaders complained earlier in the week of being short-changed by its ally, and Washington warned it could cut its losses and bypass Turkey if a deal were not soon reached.

Ankara, which says it has lost some 40 billion dollars in trade because of UN embargoes on Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, has accused Washington of reneging on earlier promises of compensation.

With nine Turks out of 10 currently opposed to a war, Prime Minister Gul has stressed he needs strong arguments to convince parliament to approve the deployment of up to 60,000 US soldiers.

Meanwhile Turkish forces are continuing their military buildup near the border with Iraq.—AFP