Turkey puts brake on US deployment

Turkey has requested anti-missile systems from allies

Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has said the country's parliament is unlikely to vote to allow in tens of thousands of United States troops before the conditions of the deployment have been agreed.

We are of the belief that it will be difficult to convince parliament before an agreement is reached

Abdullah Gul

Parliament had been expected to vote on the issue on Tuesday, but this now appears unlikely.

Any delay could hinder US plans to open a northern front in the event of an assault on Iraq.

Most Turks oppose military action against Iraq

Mr Gul's comments came after the Nato military alliance finally agreed on measures to improve Turkey's defences in the event of war.

He said differences remained between Turkey and the United States over the political, economic and military dimensions of the deployment.

"We are of the belief that it will be difficult to convince parliament before an agreement is reached," Mr Gul said.

Appeal to EU

A key sticking point appears to be the level of economic aid that the US would give Turkey to compensate it for any losses incurred in case of war with Iraq.

The US military build-up continues in the Gulf

Mr Gul, fearing an influx of Iraqi refugees, has also called on the European Union to provide financial assistance if conflict breaks out.

The EU has already begun drafting contingency plans for aid distribution in consultation with aid agencies and the Turkish Government.

Disagreements between Turkey on the US also remain on military issues such as the command structure in case of a joint Turkish-US operation in northern Iraq, home to many Kurdish people.

The developments come after worldwide protests at the weekend against a US-led war in Iraq.

The Turkish public is overwhelmingly against any war in Iraq.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Monday outside the US embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to protest against American policy on Iraq.

Nato agreement

Turkish leaders have said they will only back a war against Iraq in the last resort, but the government has also said that it cannot afford to remain neutral in the event of conflict.

The US is a key ally of Turkey, lobbying for Ankara to be accepted into the European Union and for international agencies to grant Turkey loans to recover from a deep economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Ankara has expressed satisfaction with Nato's decision on improving Turkish defences.

After a week of wrangling, the alliance's Defence Planning Committee agreed to initiate measures for Turkey, which has asked for Patriot anti-missile batteries and Awacs radar planes to protect its south-eastern region against possible attacks from Iraq.

Belgium, France and Germany had earlier stopped the 19-member alliance from initiating military planning, arguing that this would sent the "wrong signal" while diplomacy continues in an attempt to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.