WASHINGTON (AFX) - President George
Bush has asked Congress for 1 bln usd in grants for
Turkey, but that money is "unlikely" to actually go to
the newly installed regime of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, a senior administration official said.
US-Turkey relations have soured after the Turkish
government on March 1 refused to allow 62,000 US ground
forces to use the country as a staging area for the war
against Iraq.
"It's very unlikely that they will get the full 1
bln," said the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Earlier in the day, Bush announced that he was
seeking a 74.7 bln usd supplemental budget request from
Congress to pay for the war to oust Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein.
Included in the request is 1 bln usd in direct
assistance for Turkey. The 1 bln usd could be used to
support up to 8.5 bln usd in direct loans or loan
guarantees.
The request must still be approved by Congress.
Initially, Bush had plans to provide 6 bln usd in
direct aid for Turkey which could have guaranteed up to
24 bln usd in loans or loan guarantees, but that plan
was scuttled after the Turkish refusal to cooperate with
US forces.
The government on March 20 approved "flyover rights"
for US air forces in attacks against northern Iraq for a
period of six months. Turkish officials have said the US
aircraft would not be allowed to use Turkish bases, even
for refueling.
corbett.daly@afxnews.com
cbd/djp
