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Turkey Says No Plans For 2nd Vote On U-S Troop Deployment - 2003-03-02


A top member of Turkey's ruling party says the government has no immediate plans to seek another vote in Parliament for the deployment of U-S troops in the country for a possible war against Iraq -- following Saturday's rejection.

Eyup Fatsa, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party's parliamentary group, said the motion has been postponed indefinitely and that there is no action planned in the immediate future.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said earlier that officials need to assess parliament's rejection of the bill that would have allowed the deployment and provided economically-troubled Turkey billions of dollars in U-S grants and loans.

The measure also had provisions for Turkish troops to be sent into northern Iraq, if war broke out, to prevent a Kurdish uprising, or a refugee exodus into Turkey.

In Saturday's vote, Turkey's parliament fell three votes short of the majority needed to pass the bill. Turkish officials said the issue could be considered again when parliament next meets on Tuesday.

The rejection is a major setback for U-S plans to send 62-thousand troops to Turkey to open a northern front against Iraqi government forces. It also is a defeat for Turkey's government, which negotiated long and hard with the United States to secure a multi-billion-dollar financial aid package to compensate for the economic fallout of the war.

Public opinion in Turkey is overwhelmingly opposed to a U-S-led war in neighboring Iraq.

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