"We will have a decision in the North Atlantic Council by Saturday at the latest, following the discussion in the United Nations Security Council on Friday, which will absolutely satisfy Turkey's interests," Struck told the German parliament.

NATO is experiencing a deepening rift among its member states on the Iraqi crisis as well as a widening division in transatlantic ties, as Germany, France and Belgium on Monday blocked a US request for NATO to plan for military assistance to Turkey in the event of an attack on its neighbor Iraq.

Although Struck's remarks are believed to have signaled an end to a deadlock on the issue of Turkey defense, it is not known yet whether France and Belgium will go along with Germany.

However, when addressing the parliament earlier on Thursday, Germany Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Germany and France were closely coordinating their positions, adding that "...unity of action with France is indispensable. German policy must never isolate France."

Schroeder also said it was not appropriate for NATO to decide on military backup for Turkey ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Friday when the chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix will submit a second crucial report on the progress of his mission in Iraq.

On Wednesday, NATO ambassadors ended their third day of emergency talks over the Iraq issue without agreement, as France, Germany and Belgium rejected a scaled-down proposal for protecting Turkey from possible military threat from Iraq.

They insisted that to start military preparations at present would imply the diplomatic efforts to seek a political solution to the Iraqi crisis have failed.

Turkey, which might be used as a launch pad for US attacks on Iraq, has requested NATO to dispatch AWACS radar planes, Patriot anti-missile batteries and specialized units to counter poison gasor germ warfare attacks.

The new proposal is only limited to the defense of Turkey, dropping elements of filling in for peacekeeping troops in the Balkans that might be sent to fight Iraq and beefing up security at US military bases in Europe.

After the three European countries blocked the start of NATO military planning on Monday, Turkey invoked Article IV of NATO's founding treaty which stipulates that all NATO allies can seek consultations if they fear they are under threat.

The United States insisted that protection measures for Turkey would be taken by individual allies if NATO fails to agree.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2003)