Turkey Says Iraq No Threat to Neighbors

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 16, 2002

Turkey Says Iraq No Threat to Neighbors

Turkey on Friday urged the United States not to attack Iraq, saying the country poses no threat to its neighbors.

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Turkey on Friday urged the United States not to attack Iraq, saying the country poses no threat to its neighbors.

"We feel that Iraq should not be the subject of military attacks because it would upset the whole Middle East," Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters after meeting European Union (EU) leaders at their summit in Barcelona.

The United States, which led a coalition against Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, is widely believed to prepare for a fresh strike if Baghdad does not let international weapons inspectors return to the country. The issue is also on the agenda of the two-day EU summit in Spain, with the spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair warning that the West could not turn its back on the problem.

Ecevit said Iraq had done nothing to merit a new onslaught. " Since the Gulf War, Iraq has been under strict control ... It is under constant surveillance so it is not in a position any more to inflict any harm on its neighbors or even against its people," the Turkish prime minister said.

Turkey, one of NATO allies and Iraq's western neighbor which played an active part in the 1991 war, is worried that another conflict would wreak havoc with its already enfeebled economy.

Ankara says it lost more than 30 billion U.S. dollars in revenues after the Gulf War. "Our economy would suffer a great deal on account of a military venture," said Ecevit, who is due to meet U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney next week to discuss the Iraqi issue.

Earlier at the EU summit which started on Friday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told reporters that he knew of no plans for an attack on Iraq. He urged reporters not to speculate about the possibility of strikes.

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