ANKARA (AFX) - Turkey has delayed a vote on allowing US soldiers to deploy on its soil, hinting it first wanted Washington to put up billions more dollars in aid to offset economic damages in case of war in neighbouring Iraq.

The news came just hours after Ankara secured a victory within NATO which after a week-long standoff approved US plans to boost Turkey's defences in case of an Iraq war.

The Turkish parliament had been expected to vote on Tuesday on a government motion to allow US soldiers to deploy in the country in preparation for a possible US military move into northern Iraq.

Without agreement with Washington on "political, economic and military questions" parliament would not adopt such a motion, said Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.

He did not elaborate, but Turkish and US officials have been engaged in extensive negotiations on US financial assistance to help Turkey deal with the impact of a war.

Newspaper reports here suggested Washington had offered some 6 bln usd in grants and up to 20 bln usd in loan guarantees. Turkey might be seeking up to 50 bln, according to press reports.

"If circumstances do not change, the prime minister's office will not send to parliament such a motion, at least for tomorrow (Tuesday) as was expected," Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc told Anatolia news agency.

Speaking after talks in Washington, Economy Minister Ali Babacan said Sunday he and US officials had failed to agree on the amount of financial aid to be provided.

The Turkish press was awash Monday with reports of tensions between the two NATO allies.

"Parliament vote on hold over deal for US dollars," was the blunt headline in the Radikal newspaper.

Ankara worries a war in Iraq would deal a new blow to its economy, which has just started to recover from a severe recession, hitting the country's vital tourism sector and upsetting fragile macro-economic balances watched by the International Monetary Fund.

Turkey and the US are also at odds over who will command the troops that Ankara is planning to send to northern Iraq in the event of a war to prevent an influx of refugees and thwart any independence move by the breakaway Iraqi Kurds in the region.

Ankara has said Washington's suggestion to place the Turkish troops under US command was "insulting."

The Turkish legislature is dominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a movement with Islamist roots whose members are overwhelmingly against military action against Baghdad.

"We have our worries. It will be difficult to convince parliament members without coming to an agreement" with the US, Gul said at the airport, before heading to Brussels for an emergency EU summit on Iraq.

"Turkey places a lot of importance on political, military, and economic questions," he said. "To get a result (in parliament), deputies will want to see the adoption of certain measures to address their concerns."

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