Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=2-20-03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=POWELL-TURKEY AID (S)

NUMBER=2-299861

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Secretary of State Colin Powell is awaiting an answer from Turkey by the end of Thursday, as to whether the Ankara government will allow U-S troops on its soil for any conflict with Iraq. The two sides have been at odds over the terms of a multi-billion dollar U-S aid package to compensate Turkey for war-related economic damage. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

TEXT: The Bush administration is understood to have offered Turkey a multi-year aid package totaling 26-billion dollars in grants and guaranteed loans. At a news conference with NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he told Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul in a telephone conversation Wednesday that the offer is as high as the United States is prepared to go:

///POWELL ACTUALITY///

I reaffirmed to them yesterday morning in a phone call to the Prime Minister that our position was firm with respect to the kind of assistance we could provide with respect to the level. There may be some other creative things we can do, but the level was our ceiling.

///END ACT///

The Secretary said consultations were underway within the Turkish government and that he expected a decision "before the day is out." Shiploads of U-S troops and military equipment are already bound for Turkey, which is envisioned as a major staging ground for an Iraq campaign. (Signed)

NEB/DAG/MAR/FC