ANKARA, Feb 23: The Turkish government was expected to give its approval to a deal that would allow tens of thousands of US troops to deploy across its territory ahead of a possible war in neighbouring Iraq, at a special cabinet meeting on Monday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, who announced the special meeting, gave no details as to its agenda.

But government ministers and the leader of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday hinted that parliament could be summoned on Tuesday to approve the agreement, if sufficient progress had been made in the ongoing negotiations over a proposed US aid package.

Ankara has insisted that a deal involving a multi-billion-dollar compensation package and political underpinnings for a future post-Saddam Hussein Iraq be signed before parliament votes on the US military presence.

With MPs’ seal of approval, US combat forces could used bases here as a springboard for the invasion of northern Iraq.

Turkish officials said a deal would include economic, political and military guarantees, ranging from a possible six billion-dollar grant — part of which could be leveraged into low-interest commercial loans — to joint US-Turkish control of the mainly Kurdish northern Iraq.

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, and to who will pay for special dog-tags US soldiers will be required to wear whilst 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 on 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.

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