ANKARA, Feb 21: A Turkish-US accord on financial aid and military cooperation in case of war in Iraq could be sealed over the weekend, paving the way for the deployment of US soldiers in Turkey, Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said on Friday.
The announcement marked a softening stance in Ankara, which has been digging in its heels over the size and terms of a multi-billion-dollar aid package it is seeking from Washington in return for its support.
“In the discussions that we have been carrying out with the United States, we have recorded good progress so far. We are at a point quite close to an agreement,” Yakis told NTV television.
“If there is a will, this could be finalized by working on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul also sought to decrease the tension, which has threatened to poison ties between the two NATO allies and hamper US plans to launch an attack on Iraq from the north.
Mr Gul said the talks were continuing within “mutual understanding” and could produce a result “in the coming days”.
Ankara is insisting on guaranteed financial aid from Washington and a written pledge that the Kurds in northern Iraq would not be allowed to break away from Baghdad.
Ankara fears that the downfall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would encourage the Iraqi Kurds to move towards independence, which in turn would fuel separatist ambitions among its own Kurds.
Faced with a staunchly anti-war public opinion, Turkey says it will not request a parliamentary vote on US troop deployment without obtaining guarantees from the US on economic compensation and the post-war unity of Iraq.
A vote could be held on Tuesday, according to press reports.
Ankara’s anxiety stems from the 1991 Gulf war, in the wake of which it suffered substantial economic damage despite having backed the US.
“We have learned our lesson from 1991,” Yakis said.
Ankara says it lost up to 40 billion dollars in trade because of UN embargoes on Iraq and has accused Washington of reneging on its promise to deliver compensation.
US and British warplanes already use a Turkish base to patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq that has kept the Kurdish enclave out of Baghdad’s control since the 1991 war.
But Ankara says the no-fly zone has boosted independence aspirations among local Kurds and provided Turkish Kurdish rebels with a safe haven and a springboard for attacks on Turkey.
In cooperation with the US, Turkey wants to deploy troops in northern Iraq to keep the area under control.
In return for its support, Washington has offered Ankara a grant of six billion dollars, part of which could be used to obtain long-term commercial loans of up to 24 billion dollars, to offset the damage of a war on the already crisis-hit Turkish economy.
Ankara says the money is insufficient and is fuming at US proposals that the loans be put under the scrutiny of the International Monetary Fund.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday that Washington was not intending to increase its offer, but added: “There may be some other creative things we can do.”
The head of Turkey’s ruling party, Justice and Development Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Washington of disregarding Ankara’s concerns.
“Friendship cannot go with a mentality like ‘you do what I want’,” Mr Erdogan said in an interview with a television network on Thursday.
“We give more weight to political and military issues,” he said, dismissing reports that the only problem in the talks concerned financial aid.
Earlier this month, Turkey agreed to allow the United States to upgrade its air bases and sea ports for use in any war.
Hundreds of US technical personnel and equipment have already arrived in the country for the renovation work.—AFP