Turkey and the United States bargained today on Turkish demands to deploy military units in northern Iraq to control refugees and monitor Kurdish groups.
Diplomats said Washington may also seek co-operation to support the "northern front" it is trying to assemble across the border, despite Turkey's refusal to let US troops launch a second land invasion of Iraq from Turkish soil.
Turkey wants to extend co-operation to secure urgently needed financial help, turned down by the United States after parliament voted against the US troop deployment.
President George W. Bush, fearing clashes between Turks and armed Iraqi Kurdish groups working with US forces in their military campaign, told Turkey he did not want it to dispatch troops. But Ankara insists only it can defend its interests in the Kurdish-controlled area.
European states have also warned Turkey against deploying additional troops in the area, where Ankara fears a Kurdish state that could galvanise rebels on Turkish soil.