US aid deal close

Rob Nichols, a US Treasury Department spokesman said on Thursday Turkey and the US were close to finalising the remaining technical details for the aid package.
The preconditions for the loan were Turkey’s continued implementing of economic reforms and its offering the US assistance in Iraq, Nichols said. However, the aid was not linked to Ankara offering troops to serve as peace keepers in that country he added.
“The dispatch of Turkish troops to Iraq for stability operations is not a necessary condition for determining Turkish co-operation in Iraq,” he said. “This assistance package offered by the US to Turkey and the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq are two different issues.”
Though a final agreement was close, Nichols said that there was not set date for the release of the funds.