Turkey's top politician signalled Tuesday his government may again ask parliament to allow 62,000 American troops into the country, hoping to reverse a weekend denial that upset U.S. war plans.

Associated Press

ISTANBUL — Turkey's top politician signalled Tuesday his government may again ask parliament to allow 62,000 American troops into the country, hoping to reverse a weekend denial that upset U.S. war plans.

Parliament on Saturday rejected a government motion authorizing the troop deployment, upsetting Washington's plans to open a northern front against Iraq. The ruling Justice and Development party currently is debating whether to resubmit the resolution for a second vote.

"Turkey, for its own security and for Iraq's territorial integrity, will not remain an observer to the developments, and I believe in the coming days, (Turkey) will decide on how it needs to intervene and which method it needs to use," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his governing party legislators.

Although the U.S. cannot currently deploy the majority of its forces in Turkey, some troops are allowed in to carry out logistical tasks.

On Tuesday, seven busloads of American troops arrived in the eastern Mediterranean port of Iskenderun.

But even if the Turkish government does submit a new motion, analysts say, the process could take up to two weeks as the ruling party waits for the results of legislative byelections, scheduled for Sunday.

Erdogan, the popular leader of the governing party, is widely expected to win a parliament seat in those elections. Once a legislator, he is expected to become prime minister and shuffle the cabinet.

When asked if a new resolution would be submitted after the byelections, Erdogan said, "At the moment, no final decision has been made. Both the party and the government are reviewing the developments. There are internal and external developments and steps will be taken according to these developments."

Erdogan told party legislators, who are deeply divided on the issue amid strong popular opposition to any war in Iraq, to put the country's interests ahead of their personal feelings. More than 90 party deputies voted against the troop deployment, leaving the motion three votes short of approval.

Politicians have "to take steps not to satisfy their daily emotions but toward the country's future, toward managing the country's future," he said.

Turkish and U.S. diplomats negotiated for weeks on the conditions of the troop deployment, including a $15 billion US aid package aimed at compensating Turkey for any losses incurred in a war.

Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said negotiations with the United States stopped this weekend and had not been completed.

"There were some answers that we were waiting for and they had not arrived. We will look into it again when (the talks) resume," Yakis said.

However, a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington believed the two sides agreed on the conditions and no new talks were necessary.

A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States slowed down its renovation work on Turkish bases after Saturday's vote. Turkey's parliament authorized the United States to modernize several bases and ports that would be used in an Iraq war.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson met with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Tuesday. Asked whether he expected the government to resubmit its motion to parliament, Pearson said, "We have hopes, as we always have had, of working closely with Turkey.

"Whether it concerns northern Iraq, or the Turkish economy, co-operation between the Turkish military and the American military, our political views with respect to the future of Iraq, all these are still very good reasons for arriving at an agreement," Pearson said.

The parliamentary debate over letting in U.S. troops has stirred deep emotions in Turkey, where many fear a war will lead to regional instability and undermine Turkey's economic recovery.

Washington has been urging Turkey to approve the deployment for weeks and U.S. warships are waiting off the southern Turkish coast to unload material for the 4th Infantry Division.

Fears that Turkey would lose the U.S. grants and loans after parliament's decision Saturday caused the stock market to plunge more than 12 per cent Monday.

The market recovered some of its losses Tuesday. The lira remained stable, trading at 1.63 million to the U.S. dollar.

But traders warned that Turkey so far has been spared a major financial crisis because market participants still hope the government will resubmit the motion to parliament.

It is unclear how long the United States is willing to wait before it abandons the northern front option. Washington says a northern front would lead to a shorter, less bloody war, but has said it can wage war even without Turkey's assistance.