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Turkey and the United States are close to an agreement on the stationing of US troops in Turkey in the event of an Iraq war, Turkey's ambassador to the United States Farouk Logoglu said on Sunday.
In an interview with CNN television, Logoglu said that although there is no final agreement yet, the two sides are "confident" and "optimistic" on striking a deal, which could pave the way for some 40,000 US troops to open in Turkey a northern front if a war on Iraq breaks out.
He said the final agreement will cover three basic areas, namely economic, military and political ones.
If a final agreement is reached, the Turkish parliament will debate and vote on it "when it convenes its first meeting (of next week), maybe on Tuesday."
However, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said earlier on Sunday that the parliament has not decided whether to hold a debate on Tuesday on the US request.
(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2003)
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