Turkey to Extend Air Base Deal With U.S.

ANKARA, Turkey â€”  Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Wednesday that Turkey would extend for another year an agreement allowing the United States to use Incirlik air base for planes supplying American and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said that it was still awaiting notification and that it remained unclear whether Turkey would grant its request to widen the terms of the existing deal, including providing a blanket clearance for all flights.

The current deal expires in June, and U.S. diplomats have expressed frustration that Turkey has so far not replied to Washington’s request, made about 10 months ago, to turn Incirlik into an expanded cargo hub.

Gul said the Cabinet would issue a decree formally extending the accord very soon. Parliament’s approval is not required. He said the agreement would meet U.S. requests.

Turkey is a NATO ally of the United States but relations were badly strained by the Iraq war, which most Turks opposed.

The postwar turmoil in Iraq also has stirred deep unease in Turkey. Ankara fears that Iraqi Kurds want to carve out an independent state in northern Iraq, which could reignite the separatist movement among Turkey’s Kurds. For that reason, diplomats say, Turkish officials seem to want to downplay the logistical support provided the U.S. at Incirlik, near the Mediterranean.

Under the present deal, the U.S. needs permission for each flight to and from Incirlik. The planes are allowed to carry logistical equipment, not ammunition or -- barring the pilots -- military personnel.