Washington insists a Kurdish state would not emerge.
Ankara has kept troops in northern Iraq for many years, guarding the border and pursuing Turkish Kurdish rebels who have withdrawn to the mountains there. Estimates put the strength anywhere between 3,000 and 17,000.
Kurdish groups tacitly accept a limited presence but vow to resist any bigger deployments.
Villagers from a zone near the Iraqi border closed to journalists said they had seen more than 100 trucks, jeeps and armored cars assembled near the frontier. Armor was also visible from the Iraqi side of the border.
The head of Turkey's armed forces, General Hilmi Ozkok, was expected to visit the Turkish border yesterday if heavy snow abated.
EU sources said on Tuesday the European Commission would propose doubling aid to Turkey, which wants to join the EU, to one billion euros (US$1.07 billion) over the next three years.
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