Deal on Iraq

last updated 8 January 2015

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

At a meeting in Dubai this week, the U.S. agreed to lend Turkey $8.5 billion in exchange for its cooperation in Iraq. The loan, to be dispersed over a decade, would serve as compensation for the disruption caused by the war in neighboring Iraq. The money would also hinge on economic reforms. The agreement replaced a $15 billion aid package shelved when Turkey refused to let the U.S. use its territory to stage an invasion into northern Iraq. But officials stressed that the loan was not contingent on a U.S. request for 10,000 Turkish troops to help with the occupation. “That’s a totally different subject,” said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip