Turkey mulls new troops vote

Turkey mulls new troops vote

Prime Minister Gul faced uproar after the vote

The Turkish Government is discussing whether to seek another vote on allowing US troops onto Turkish territory, a day after parliament rejected the long-awaited motion.

"This issue is being evaluated by the party leadership and the government," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"If deemed necessary, this step [a second motion] will be taken," he said.

US Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson expressed disappointment at the vote, which correspondents say was a serious setback to US plans for a northern front against Iraq.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Abdullah Gul, however, said the outcome would not harm Turkey's relations with the United States.

Deputies rebel

MPs voted 264-250 in favour of the deployment, but the motion fell four votes short of the required majority of deputies present in the chamber.

Turkey's tough balancing act

Dozens of AKP deputies abstained, stayed away or voted against the government's motion.

Mr Erdogan described the result as completely democratic.

Turkey will receive $15bn in aid and loans from the US if it allows the deployment.

The US urgently wants to deploy 62,000 troops and more than 250 planes in Turkey as part of its military plans.

US ships and trucks carrying military equipment have been waiting at Turkey's borders for weeks in anticipation of the vote.

Vote dilemma

The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Ankara says the knife-edge vote was a massive blow for the four-month-old Turkish Government, which has a massive majority in parliament.

The Turkish Government now faces the prospect of either conceding its loss and forfeiting the deal that it worked out so painfully with the United States or proceeding with a second vote in the hope that some of its own MPs might change their minds.

But he says it was in accord with overwhelming popular disapproval of a war against Iraq - thousands took to the streets as the vote was being taken.

Opinion polls show that 80% of Turks are opposed to the war and tens of thousands of protesters, from academics to family parties, turned out in central Ankara.