U.S. wants $228 million for Turkish peacekeepers

Cheney and Ecevit met in Ankara on Tuesday.

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- The Bush administration will propose $228 million in new military aid to Turkey as Ankara prepares to take command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday.

Cheney made the pledge in a meeting Tuesday after arriving in Ankara from Jerusalem. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit first raised the issue back in January, when he asked the administration for help with Turkey's debt for international military operations.

Britain, which is to complete its mandate as International Security Assistance Force commander on April 1, is eager to hand control to Turkey, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently said it would retain the post slightly longer if necessary.

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Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, has also sought assurances that other NATO countries would maintain their presence in Afghanistan and that Turkey would receive adequate logistical support in operations.

White House officials said the money would be included in the State Department portion of an emergency supplemental budget request the administration is to send to Congress on Wednesday. In all, the Bush administration is seeking roughly $1 billion in new help for allies in the war on terrorism, these officials said.

Discussions were held last Thursday at the Turkish foreign ministry between delegations led by the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, James Dobbins; the British envoy to Afghanistan, David Reddaway; and Ambassador Aydemir Erman for Turkey, who is the foreign ministry's special coordinator for Afghanistan.