"The cabinet will meet in a special session to discuss the motion," Sener

ANKARA, March 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As U.S. President George W. Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons a 48-hour ultimatum to leave the country or face a massive invasion on Tuesday, March 18, Turkey reconsidered its decision to allow the U.S. deployment amid rising concerns of losing a promised aid package and losing tight over the Kurdish dreams of independence.

The cabinet will hold a special meeting on later in the day to discuss a second motion on supporting United States military action against Iraq, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said on Monday, March 17, evening.

"The cabinet will meet in a special session to discuss the motion," Anatolia news agency quoted Sener as speaking after a meeting of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and other ministers to discuss the imminent threat of a U.S.-led war on neighboring Iraq

On March 1, the Turkish parliament narrowly rebuffed a U.S. request to deploy 62,000 soldiers in the country to invade Iraq from the north.

Washington had since stepped up pressure on Ankara to call a second vote or at least allow flights by U.S. planes over its airspace, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"The government will evaluate the situation and take urgent decisions," presidential spokesman Tacan Ildem said, following the meeting.   

Ildem did not specify what those decisions would be, but NTV television said it could include submitting to parliament a new motion to allow U.S. troops in if it had the support of lawmakers.

Meanwhile in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the Americans were holding close consultations with the Turkish government, and that the United States was "very sensitive" to Turkish concerns.

"We are in the closest consultation with the Turks and let me say that we are very sensitive to Turkish concerns," he said when asked if the United States was still pursuing Turkey.

Powell added the U.S. administration still hoped Ankara would be receptive to U.S. requests for permission to deploy troops there and to allowing overflights in the event of conflict.

President Bush declared in a 13-minute speech that the U.S. had the ‘sovereign’ authority to declare war and concluded that such an authority was invoked when a member of the U.N. Security Council, in an apparent reference to France, aborted the Anglo-American resolution that sought U.N. authority for war against Iraq.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan ordered the evacuation of U.N. arms inspectors and humanitarian staff from Iraq and had suspended the oil-for-food program there.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon began redeploying ships and submarines from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea in a sign Washington was increasingly concerned that Turkey might not allow overflights of planes and missiles.

"We want to develop our ties with our strategic partner and ally the United States," Cicek

Since the vote Washington has stepped up pressure on Ankara, where public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to a war, to call a second vote or allow overflights but the new Turkish government under Erdogan had previously said it was in no hurry.

After a cabinet meeting Justice Minister Cemil Cicek stressed Ankara's desire to strengthen its ties with Washington.

"We want to develop our ties with our strategic partner and ally the United States based on... the principle of mutual respect," he told a news conference.

His remarks were widely interpreted as an attempt to allay growing U.S. exasperation with Turkey's reluctance to back war plans against Iraq.

Denying U.S. support could leave Turkey with no say in the future of Iraq and deprive it of a six-billion-dollar aid package vital to offset any war-related damages on its economy.

Ankara has long expressed concern over the future make-up of Iraq, especially the Kurdish-held north of the country, which has been outside Baghdad's control since the 1991 Gulf war.

It fears that the region's breakaway Kurds could take advantage of a war to declare independence in their enclave, a move which could encourage separatism among their kinsmen in southeastern Turkey.

Turkey wants to send thousands of troops into northern Iraq to thwart any Kurdish bid for independence but Washington has warned Ankara against acting unilaterally.