Turkey Agrees to Step Up Support of U.S. in Iraq

Mr. Gul said the new agreement would not require approval by Parliament.
Details relating to the exact nature of supplies for American forces in northern Iraq were withheld. It was unclear whether the supplies would include weapons, for instance.
But American officials were clearly pleased that Turkey would be playing a more important supporting role for the Iraq war, and that this step in turn would make it easier to secure Congressional backing for $1 billion in economic assistance for Turkey requested by President Bush.
In a separate part of the agreement today, Mr. Powell said the United States and Turkey would set up a monitoring group to watch the border situation with Iraq to make sure there are no conditions that would compel Turkey to send its troops across the border.
The Bush administration has adamantly said there is no reason for Turkey to intervene. It fears such a move would inflame the Kurdish-dominated region in Iraq.
Turkey says it has no intention of sending its forces in, provided that there is no Kurdish uprising that might threaten Turkish territory or flood Turkey with refugees or lead to attacks on Turkish-speaking peoples of Iraq.
The new group to be set up to monitor the situation would help decide whether any of Turkey’s fears would justify any action by Turkey in Iraq. But Mr. Powell said it would take another week or so of consultation to decide what its composition would be.
Mr. Powell was due to leave Turkey this afternoon for Serbia and Montenegro, where he plans to confer with the new prime minister who replaced the assassinated prime minister last month.
He then goes to Belgium for another round of fence-mending, this time with European members of NATO and the European Union who have split with the United States and oppose the American-led war in Iraq.