http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bz/Qiraq-us-hungary.Rsv1_DFL.html BUDAPEST, Feb 21 (AFP) - The Hungarian government and opposition remained deadlocked Friday over a US request to move troops and freight across the country by road and rail to help defend Turkey, officials said. New talks were scheduled late Friday, but even if the conservative opposition Fidesz party lifts its objections, parliament could not approve the transit before Monday at the earliest. The approval of Washington's request needs a two-thirds majority in parliament which the governing coalition is unable to ensure on its own. The country's four parliamentary parties have been deadlocked over the issue since Monday. Fidesz, the largest opposition party, insists that while it would approve help for Turkey, an inventory of the US equipment transiting Hungary should be submitted to parliament. "Fidesz insists that the draft to be voted on should concretely name AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, air defense missiles and equipment against weapons of mass destruction, as enlisted in the decision of NATO's Defense Planning Committee (DPC)," said Fidesz vice president Zsolt Nemeth. NATO's decision to back US plans to boost Turkey's defences cleared the way Wednesday for NATO to field AWACS surveillance aircraft, Patriot missile systems and chemical-biological response units to Turkey. "Fidesz would naturally approve the transit of these," he said. But the party, ousted from power in April's elections, wants to sharply differentiate help for Turkey from war on Iraq, he said. "We would like to avoid by all means that defense provided for Turkey results in drifting into the Iraq war," said Nemeth. "Hungary's current, servile foreign policy has promoted this drifting anyway," said Nemeth, a former state secretary for foreign affaires, referring to the fact that Hungary signed a letter of eight European leaders urging unity between the United States and Europe over the Iraq crisis. Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said it was "unnecessary .. to give an inventory of the deliveries," since the draft explicitly said they would serve exclusively for the defense of Turkey. "The solidarity of NATO states towards each other cannot be risked by just one out of seven countries saying no or delaying a decision with invented pretexts," he added. On Monday, Fidesz first said it would approve the transit under certain conditions, but then backed out of the deal after its conditions were met. Hungary, a NATO member since 1999, is allowing Washington to train up to 3,000 Iraqi exiles in the southern army base of Taszar, who would act as liaison between coalition forces and the civilian population after a war in Iraq. Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
