Turkish leaders clash

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has publicly criticised the country's president for acting politically in vetoing a new tobacco law.

A public row between Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet in February sparked a financial crisis that saw the value of the country's lire currency plummet.

Ecevit said the law -- intended to reduce public spending in Turkey's heavily subsidised tobacco industry -- was required by international lenders as they decide whether to unlock a $1.5 billion of loans.

Ecevit said: "I believe the president's rejection of the tobacco law was political and not legal in nature."

He said he was prepared recall parliament to pass the bill a second time and return it for presidential approval.

The Reuters news agency reported that Sezer had rejected the law because he felt it would cause hardship to tobacco growers.

The law was designed reduce public spending in the tobacco industry by reducing tobacco growing and encouraging farmers to turn to other crops.

Ecevit added it was parliament's job to consider political ramifications of the laws it passed and the president's duty to look at the legality of those laws.

The IMF announced on Monday that a meeting to approve a $1.5 billion loan to Turkey had been postponed because measures to reform its banking system and the Turk Telekom monopoly had not gone far enough.

Passage of the tobacco law was another key pledge to the IMF, and although the delay may complicate relations with the fund it is not clear whether ratification was a condition for the loan tranche.