US Says Time Running out for Turkey to Accept Deal on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 20, 2003

US Says Time Running out for Turkey to Accept Deal on Iraq

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The Bush administration said on Wednesday that Turkey has not much time left to agree to an economic aid package that would lead to a vote of Turkey's parliament on authorizing US troops deployment on the country's soil against Iraq.

Speaking at a daily briefing, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Washington would make no new offers to Turkey, adding that time is running out for Turkey to decide whether it will accept the offer that is on the table.

Reports say that Turkey is demanding 10 billion US dollars in grants and up to 20 billion US dollars in long-term loans, but theUnited States offered Turkey seven billion US dollars in grants and military debt write-off.

"Either an agreement will be reached, or an agreement won't bereached," Fleischer said.

"There are two issues. One is the military issue and whether Turkey will decide... Secondly, as a long-standing strategic partner of the United States, there are issues that are under consideration in terms of the impact a war might bring to Turkey, being a neighbor of Iraq," he said.

In Ankara, Chairman Tayyip Erdogan of the ruling Justice and Development Party said on Wednesday that Turkey has no plans to hold a parliamentary vote within a week on allowing US troops on its soil for a possible military attack against neighboring Iraq.

"A date for the motion has not been set either for during the week or the weekend," he said during an interview with the NTV television.

The United States had expected Turkey's parliament to vote on Tuesday on authorizing US troop deployments for a northern front when a war on Iraq is launched.

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