DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan on Friday urged the future Iraqi government to ensure that no ethnic or religious group be in a position to dominate others when it draws up a new constitution.
Erdogan also pledged Turkey would meet European Union admission criteria as long as EU officials did not change the rules while Ankara prepared its bid to join the 25-member bloc.
Authorities that take office following elections scheduled for Sunday in Iraq, which shares a common border with Turkey, "will have a very heavy responsibility," Erdogan told a press briefing at the World Economic Forum.
The constitution it draws up "should not give one ethnic group the opportunity to dominate another ethnic group," the Turkish prime minister stressed.
"Similarly, that constitution should not allow different religious sects to have supremacy over one another," he added.
The vote, the first democratic Iraqi election for more than 50 years, has been clouded by violence and calls for boycotts, particularly on the part of Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority which fears domination by majority Shiites.
"The administration that will come to power after the election on January 30 has to plan very well what will happen next," Erdogan told media at this Swiss ski resort.
"The constitution should ensure and guarantee territorial integrity in Iraq," he insisted.
Parts of northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey are home to ethnic Kurds who Ankara believes could push for an independent state that would benefit from substantial oil reserves in the region.
The Turkish leader urged Iraqi officials to make sure the new constitution established "that the natural riches of Iraq belong to the entire Iraqi people."
"If the new administration succeeds in all of that I believe it will gain the confidence of the Iraqi people for the future," he added.
Erdogan said that given conditions under which the poll is being held, and because the electorate was being offered few choices, "from this perspective it will not be a fully democratic election."
But he added that bringing ballot boxes to voters was a major achievement and when seen as a transition to democracy the election was "in my opinion an important, significant step".
The Turkish leader called for a united front against terrorism, saying such acts should be seen in the same light regardless of which country was targeted.
"It is imperative that we create a common understanding, a common logic in this area," he said.
"Nobody should be saying my terrorist is better than yours, because all terrorists are bad."
Regarding Turkey's bid to join the European Union, Erdogan said he had met here with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and had held talks with Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner.
Turkey would continue to work hard to meet EU standards, and "initiatives relating to legal infrastructures are mainly dominant in our efforts," the prime minister said.
"The EU has not stopped its enlargement, and we will say yes to everything as long as it conforms to the rules," Erdogan pledged.
01/28/2005 17:09 GMT - AFP