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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/da/Qus-turkey-iraq.Rhkb_DMI.html Turkey to ask parliament to okay support for US war plans Hande Culpan -"The motion that will be submitted to parliament will include a request for permission to send Turkish soldiers abroad and to allow US planes overflight rights." -Just hours before, the minister had announced that MPs would also be asked to approve the deployment of US soldiers in Turkey for a possible invasion of Iraq from the north.... -[W]ashington had now agreed "in principle" to allow Turkish soldiers to enter the Kurdish-held enclave which has been outside Baghdad's control since the 1991 Gulf War. -In return for backing its war plans, Washington had previously offered Turkey a six-billion-dollar aid package.... ANKARA, March 19 (AFP) - The Turkish government said early Wednesday that it would ask parliament to approve a US request to use its airspace to launch strikes against neighbouring Iraq, adding that talks would continue on other areas of cooperation. "The motion that will be submitted to parliament will include a request for permission to send Turkish soldiers abroad and to allow US planes overflight rights," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters after a lengthy cabinet meeting on the Iraqi crisis. A vote on the request would be held on Thursday, he added. Just hours before, the minister had announced that MPs would also be asked to approve the deployment of US soldiers in Turkey for a possible invasion of Iraq from the north, but had added that Ankara and Washington were still trying to reach a deal on the issue. Later, Cicek announced that US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul had agreed in a telephone conversation on granting overflight rights to US planes. "The United States has requested permission only for the transit passage of US planes... Talks will continue on other issues according to developments," the minister said. The cabinet decision came as US officials announced in Washington they still eagerly anticipated Turkish support to possible US military action, particularly on overflight rights, despite the late date. "We will hope that we'll be able to have Turkey's support in the days ahead, " State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Hours before the cabinet met, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had given signals that his government was ready to assist the United States against Iraq. "Our government considers it important to act in a manner appropriate to the importance and function of our alliance with the United States," he told parliament on Tuesday. Turkey -- where public opinion is staunchly opposed to war in Iraq -- has greatly frustrated its NATO ally with weeks of foot-dragging and a parliament vote on March 1, narrowly rejecting the deployment here of 62,000 US soldiers. The vote had not only hampered Washington's plans to open a second front against Baghdad in addition to a main invasion from the south, but also blocked Ankara's plans to send troops to northern Iraq to prevent local Kurds from breaking away from Baghdad. Since the parliamentary rebuff, the United States had been frequently warning Turkey against undertaking unilateral military action in northern Iraq, while Iraqi Kurds have threatened to fight Turkish soldiers. But Cicek announced that Washington had now agreed "in principle" to allow Turkish soldiers to enter the Kurdish-held enclave which has been outside Baghdad's control since the 1991 Gulf War. Ankara fears that Iraqi Kurds may take advantage of a war to declare an independent state in their enclave, setting an example for their own restive cousins in Turkey's southeast. "The United States has confirmed Turkey's sensitivities" regarding Iraq's territorial integrity and Ankara's desire to see the Turkmens, a community of Turkic origin, obtain greater political influence in northern Iraq, Cicek said. He added that the United States would also continue its support to Turkey's market stability and tight austerity programme to drag its economy out of its worst recession in years, but gave no further details. Turkish shares had slumped and the weak currency had lost value against the dollar on Monday over fears that Ankara's reluctance to back the United States would cost it vital financial aid, but markets recovered on Tuesday in expectation of a second motion. In return for backing its war plans, Washington had previously offered Turkey a six-billion-dollar aid package to offset any war-related damages on its weak economy, but recent reports suggested that the offer was now off the table following Ankara's foot-dragging. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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