Turkey's parliament has narrowly rejected a motion that would have allowed more than 60,000 U.S. troops to be deployed to Ankara bases in the event of a possible war in Iraq.

CTV.ca News Staff

Turkey's parliament has narrowly rejected a motion that would have allowed more than 60,000 U.S. troops to be deployed to Ankara bases in the event of a possible war in Iraq.

The vote was 264-250 with 19 abstentions. The opposition Republican People's Party disputed the results, saying the result was four votes short of a majority of deputies present in the chamber.

Turkey's parliamentary speaker, Bulent Arinc, then nullified the vote and closed parliament until Tuesday.

It's unclear what will happen now, but Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan called the parliamentary vote "completely democratic", suggesting he will accept the results.

"What more do you want? It was a completely democratic result. May it be for the best," the Anatolian news agency quoted Erdogan as saying after a meeting with party leaders to evaluate the vote.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul echoed those comments, saying: "The decision of parliament is clear to see, we must all respect it."

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party will meet Sunday to discuss whether to push the resolution.

Washington has asked for clarification of the Turkish vote, after it was first accepted and then rejected.

The motion, which would have had to pass in a subsequent vote on March 4, would have paved the way for the deployment of 62,000 U.S. troops, 25 warplanes and 65 helicopters to bases in Turkey. It would also see Turkish troops sent into northern Iraq.

Rejecting the motion will likely increase tensions with the United States, which had wanted to use Turkey as a staging point to open a northern front against Iraq that would shorten a war with Iraq.

Even if the motion would have passed, Turkey and the U.S. would have to agree to military, political and economic conditions before troops and planes could have arrived in Ankara.

The proposal had been extremely unpopular in Turkey, where 50,000 protesters took to the streets of Ankara on Saturday for an anti-war rally.

Demonstrators shouted "No to war" and "We don't want to be America's soldiers,'" as about 4,000 police stood guard. Some carried banners that read: The People Will Stop This War, and Budget for Education Not War.

However, Ankara would risk being deprived of American financial support if it rejects the request. Washington had been offering Turkey about $15 billion US in grants and loans to cushion its economy in the event of a war.

An agreement on those loans had been expected to signed after the vote.

As well, Ankara is eager to have a say in the future of northern Iraq and wanted assurances that a separate Kurdish state will not be created in the aftermath of a possible war.

With reports from Reuters and The Associated Press