NATO's top military commander in Europe has ordered AWACS surveillance planes to Turkey to watch for any potential attack from Iraq.

ANKARA, February 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said Monday, February 24, that he was opposed to holding a vote at the present time on allowing the U.S. troops in the country for a possible invasion of neighboring Iraq, leaving the country still hung in the balance with no final say on the issue.

"It will not be appropriate for the government to send a motion (for a vote) at a time when the conditions of international legitimacy have not materialized," Anatolia news agency quoted Arinc as saying, in a clear reference to the UN Security Council.

He said the work of UN weapons inspectors "has not been finalized yet. And we know that the UN Security Council has not taken a decision either." Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

NATO Mission "Defensive"

In another related development, NATO troops, to operate AWACS radar surveillance aircraft, left for Turkey as part of a mission to protect the country in the event of a war with Iraq, NATO officials said.

The troops, whose number was not revealed, departed from the NATO base at Geilenkirchen, near Aachen in western Germany.

Protesters blocked a road to the main gate of the NATO air base early in the day. Germany is an outspoken to the U.S. hawkish threats to launch war against Iraq.

AWACS aircraft are to move to Konya, Turkey, some 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Ankara - this week, Major General Johann-Goerg Dora, commander of the NATO AWACS fleet, told reporters.

Initially, two aircraft will be used but the number is expected to double in due course, NATO officials said last week. All 17 of NATO's AWACS planes are based in Germany.

Dora said the mission in Turkish airspace near the Iraqi border would be "purely defensive."

"We will not allow ourselves to get involved in an offensive operation," Dora said.

NATO last week approved the deployment of a package of measures to boost Turkey's defenses after a crisis within the alliance sparked by opposition from three European countries.

France, Germany and Belgium had blocked NATO from initiating military planning, arguing that it would send the "wrong signal" while diplomacy continues in a bid to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is an early-warning system used to detect enemy air activity and to coordinate friendly aircraft involved in interception or attack.

Beyond the AWACS, NATO is also sending Patriot missile systems and chemical-biological response units to Turkey.

Germany opposes a war against Iraq but it has said that it will allow U.S. and NATO forces unfettered access to their bases and its airspace.

U.S.-Turkish Agreement "Close"

Protesters block a road to the main gate of the NATO air base in Geilenkirchen. The banner carries picture of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and reads: 'Action instead of Words'

Turkey's ambassador to the United States said that Ankara and Washington were close to a deal on allowing thousands of US troops access to Turkish territory to open a northern front in the event of war on Iraq.

"There is no final agreement yet between Turkey and the U.S. I believe we are close to one," Faruk Logoglu told CNN television.

"And over the weekend, even at this very hour, Turkish and American teams are talking in Ankara to finalize agreement on three basic areas: economic, military and political," he said.

"If that is in place, then the final decision would be made by the Turkish parliament next week, when it convenes its first meeting, maybe on Tuesday."

Asked if a deal was "very close," he said, "that would be my interpretation."

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasrar Yakis said on Friday that "we have recorded good progress (with Washington) so far. We are at a point quite close to an agreement". Also, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul sought to water down the tension.

Asked if, in addition to 252 million dollars in annual U.S. assistance to Turkey, Ankara was seeking some 10 billion in new grants over an extended period of time, and another 20 billion in loan guarantees and other arrangements, the Turkish diplomat said, "I think the figures are basically correct."

"But I would like to correct one wrong impression. This is not really just about money. The economic package is just one pillar of what we are trying to obtain. Even if Turkey gets the right economic assistance package, it will not mean that it's going to be easy to get it through the parliament.

"I think given the fact that we have 95 percent of the Turkish people opposing of war, this is a democracy, and that's one of the facts," the ambassador stressed.

The assistance is widely seen in Turkey as a bribery meant to gain Ankara's acquiescence as to a possible aggression against Iraq

Yet negotiators "are trying to bridge the gap by some creative efforts on both sides, and since we don't have the final dot on the agreement, I would like to refrain from addressing any specific numbers. But the Turkish government is making its best effort to come to a supportive position," he added.

Asked if Ankara supported a new "second" UN Security Council on Iraqi disarmament, he said: "It certainly would help our government. It would also help a lot of other countries that are thinking of joining the international coalition."

Under the deal, Turkey has demanded that many more of its own troops be allowed across the border to prevent a Kurdish uprising.

But "Turkish troops are not going into Iraq to fight," Logoglu stressed. "That is for sure. We are going there strictly for humanitarian" reasons.

Kuwait Front "Enough"

In what seems to be a fresh pressure on Ankara to allow the U.S. forces in, the commander of U.S. Army ground forces in Kuwait said the U.S.-led coalition is ready to invade Iraq even if there is no northern front driving down from bases in Turkey.

''We are not now nor have we ever been wedded to a northern option as a necessary piece of the operation,'' Lt. Gen. William Wallace, commander of the Army's V Corps, said in an interview with USA TODAY.

A second front would prevent Saddam Hussein's army from fleeing north and help avert chaos in northern Iraq, which is under the loose control of Kurds, the American paper reported.

But the division's troops remain in Texas, and its tanks and howitzers have been stuck on cargo ships offshore because Turkey has balked.

Even if a U.S.-Turkey agreement is signed soon, as expected, getting the 4th Infantry Division in position and ready could take several more weeks.

Those delays should not give Saddam comfort, Wallace said, speaking in his command tent while howitzers, attack helicopters and tanks limbered up in the Kuwaiti desert just south of the Iraqi border, added the paper.

Soon, the troops would move to final staging areas, he said.