Turkey seeks ways to patch up ties with US

The Turkish Parliament has recently turned down a government motion for allowing deployment of 62,000 US troops in its soil.
Referring to the difference between Turkey and the United States regarding a possible operation against Iraq, Gul said "our relations with the United States are very important. We don’t want these relations to be disturbed or to be drifted to a crisis."
"We follow the developments. We attribute great importance to our relations with the United States which is our strategic ally. We search for ways to find a solution to the problems that have come up regarding the process about Iraq," Gul added.
According to a Washington report, the United States which is strengthening preparations to start an operation against Iraq, took a step back regarding financial assistance to Turkey.
Senior US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that the US$15 billion offer to Turkey had been withdrawn.
Meanwhile, a powerful business organization, the Association of Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSIAD), said that the United States did not prepare a new assistance package to Turkey for a possible operation against Iraq, as Washington was suspicious that a second motion on allowing deployment of US troops in Turkish soil would not be adopted.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan seemed resolved to submit the second motion to Parliament. But the business circle is suspicious about the adoption of it, it noted.