Ending a high stakes diplomatic standoff, Turkey's Cabinet yesterday agreed to the deployment of tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops ahead of a possible war in Iraq.

　　Government spokesman Abdullatif Sener said the measure was being sent to parliament yester-day. A vote was expected today.

　　The announcement followed a Cabinet meeting that lasted for six hours. In a sign of how extremely contentious a U.S. troops deployment is in Turkey, Sener said that many ministers had reservations.

　　"An important part of our ministers did not find the developments satisfactory. But after negotiations, the decision of sending the authorization to the parliament was made," Sener said.

　　He said all of the ministers signed the motion that was sent to parliament.

　　"In the end, the ministers unanimously endorsed to send it to parliament," Sener said.

　　The basing agreement has been delayed by weeks of tense negotiations. The deadlock was finally broken late last week, when Washington offered Turkey US billion in aid and US billion in loans to cushion the Turkish economy from the impact of any war.

　　Washington wants to use Turkey to open a northern front in a war in Iraq, a strategy that would divide the Iraqi army.

　　The announcement comes as U.S. ships loaded with tanks and other armor awaited orders off the Turkish coast.

　　Sener said Turkish and U.S. officials were still working out the final details of an agreement.

　　"Negotiations (with the United States) have not been finalized yet," Sener said. He added that the government hoped an agreement would be reached by the time parliament votes.

　　A U.S. official said talks between the two sides on the details of the agreement were expected to continue throughout the day.

　　An overwhelming majority of Turks oppose any war in neighboring Iraq, fearing that it would further weaken Turkey's already fragile economy.

　　Turkish leaders have demanded assurances that the fall of Iraq's Saddam Hussein will not lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. A Kurdish state, Turkey fears, will boost aspirations of Turkey's Kurdish rebels.

　　To prevent this, Turkey wants to send tens of thousands of troopssintosnorthern Iraq in case of war. Ankara also fears that a war will push hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey but many observers say the military move may actually aim at preventing the creation of a Kurdish state in the autonomous areas of northern Iraq that border Turkey.