Global Policy Forum

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Thursday as saying Turkey would not open its bases to U.S. troops unless Washington guarantees aid and Turkey's role in any Iraq war in writing.

NATO ally Turkey has dragged its feet on a parliamentary vote to allow American troops to station on its soil, throwing into doubt U.S. plans to launch a secondary northern front against Iraq, accused of building weapons of mass destruction.

"This will not happen without a signature," Erdogan told Yeni Safak newspaper, an Islamist-leaning publication. "We don't have a date in mind. Only when we reach agreement will we send the (troop deployment) request to parliament."

Turkey argues that it lost out heavily after the 1991 Gulf War in financial terms and had insufficient say in the new order constituted in the area, especially northern Iraq. Washington has expressed frustration over Turkey's delays in accepting a multi-billion-dollar aid package in exchange for access to bases and sea ports, which could serve as staging points for a war against neighbouring Iraq.

The White House said on Wednesday night its latest offer to Turkey, amounting to $6 billion in grants and up to $20 in loans was final. Official sources here said contacts overnight with Washington had brought some progress, but gave no details.

Turkey wants a formal assurance the U.S. Congress will act quickly to release financial aid, Erdogan said. "They talk about two months when asked how long such a decision could take in Congress," he said. "It's not clear what will happen in two months, Congress could make a negative or positive decision."

Not just a question of money

But Erdogan said fears of social upheaval and instability in the region outweighed Turkey's concerns over whether its crisis-hit economy could withstand the shock of an Iraq war. "It's ridiculous to call this bargaining for dollars. The political and military dimensions are far more important, the economic dimension comes after these," Erdogan said.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul was due to meet Chief of General Staff General Hilmi Ozkok and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who argued this week that no parliamentary vote on U.S. troops was possible under the constitution without a second vote in the United Nations authorising use of force against Iraq.

A war next door could stir unrest in Turkey's impoverished mainly Kurdish southeast, scene of a separatist conflict that has killed 30,000 people since 1984. The region borders semi-autonomous northern Iraq, administered by Iraqi Kurds since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. The Turkish military wants to send thousands of troops into the enclave to stem a potential refugee flow and to block any attempts by Iraqi Kurds to establish an independent state out of the turmoil of war.

"Turkey must express its reservations now so that other things do not develop. They keep saying 'We respect territorial integrity (of Iraq),' but what degree of respect will they have when it comes to implementation?" Erdogan said.

Erdogan led the Justice and Development Party, which traces its roots to two banned Islamist parties, to an overwhelming victory in a November parliamentary election. He was barred from contesting the race because of a previous conviction for inciting religious hatred. He says his party is a conservative, secular group that is pro-Western.

Erdogan's deputy Abdullah Gul serves as prime minister, but a March by-election in which Erdogan plans to run could pave the way for him to take over the top job.

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