US Prods Turkey to Approve Agreement on Troops Deployment

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 17, 2003

US Prods Turkey to Approve Agreement on Troops Deployment

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US President George W.Bush has urged Turkish government to make a final decision on Feb. 18 to allow US troops to be stationed in Turkey for a possible war against Iraq, Turkish daily Hurriyet (Freedom) reported on Saturday.

Bush raised the demand while meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis and State Minister in charge of Treasury Ali Babacan in Washington on Friday.

Yakis and Babacan are now in the United States on an official visit.

Although Bush urged that a plan for US troops to be stationed in Turkey should be debated and approved on Turkish Parliament session on Feb. 18, the Turkish side insisted on an assurance from Washington to compensate for the losses that Turkey might suffer from a war on neighboring Iraq.

Ankara said that it would be difficult for Turkish Parliament to approve US troop deployment before a written agreement on the compensation is reached.

US officials said that their vessels carrying troops were on the way to the Middle East and soldiers should be stationed in Turkey as soon as possible.

Negotiations on an aid package, which is estimated to be 15 billion dollars in total, started in Ankara last week, when the Bush Administration sent its deputy Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor for talks with a Turkish economy team.

However, disagreement over the size of the aid package prevented a final deal between the two countries from being reached, as the United States found Turkey's demands "excessive."

Yakis and Babacan flew to Washington Wednesday for a renewed round of bargaining, it was reported.

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