Ecevit: We Hope No Military Operation Against Iraq To Be In Question

ANKARA, Feb 11 (A.A) - Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Monday that he hoped no military operation aganst Iraq to be in question.
Speaking to reporters, Ecevit said that ''we hope that our region would be a peaceful region, not a military one. We believe that the problems in the region can be solved without fight.''
Stating that he hoped de facto war atmosphere in Israel to end as soon as possible, Ecevit said that ''there are difficult problems in the region. We will do our best to solve these problems without any fight. We will also try not to cast shadow on our efforts to sort out the economic problems. I believe that we will be successful in that.''
ECEVIT: AN OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ IS DIFFICULT AS TURKEY IS AGAINST IT
Ecevit said that ''it is very difficult to stage an operation against Iraq as Turkey is against it.''
Responding to questions of journalists asking if he was worried by the letter of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Ecevit said that ''no, but the letter gives the impression that there has been no change in the mentality and attitude of Saddam Hussein up to now. But we warned Iraq. I have not discussed this issue with the U.S.''
''There will be high ranking visits to Turkey from the U.S. in the coming days. Will you make new suggestions to the U.S. administration?'' asked another journalist to Ecevit who said that ''as you know both U.S. President George W. Bush and also other officials promised to consult with us before
starting an operation against Iraq. We told the U.S. officials that the problems in the region including the ones with Iraq had to solved without war.''
When asked if there was any demand from Turkey in Saddam's letter, Ecevit said that as the letter was written by Saddam Hussein, it was him who should explain the content of the letter. ''We will not add anything to his statement,'' Ecevit said.
''Will you take any initiatives about the developments in the Middle East?,'' asked journalists to Ecevit who said that ''we always take initiatives on the issue. As I always say, the U.S. should take concrete initiatives to end the Israeli-Palestinian clash as soon as possible.''
When asked about the effects of a possible operation against Iraq, on the Turkish economy, Ecevit said that ''we are determined to do all we can to prevent a military operation in our region. I have no doubt that we will succeed, so I hope our economy will not be damaged by this.''
Upon another question on the same issue, Ecevit said that ''it is very difficult to stage an operation against Iraq without Turkey. From that point of view I am not very worried.''
Ecevit added that Iraqi Foreign Minister and Iranian Foreign Minister requested to meet with him.

SERDENGECTI:''WE CAN KEEP THE TURKISH ECONOMY STABLE IN CASE OF A MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ''
Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti briefed the Council of Ministers about the monetary and foreign currency policies on Monday.
When asked how the Turkish economy would be affected in case of a possible military operation against Iraq, he said that the economy was kept stable during the Gulf War and the same would happen if an operation takes place against Iraq.
State Minister Kemal Dervis indicated that only the Turkish press was writing about a possible operation in Iraq and he accused the media for exaggerating the possibility. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, on the other hand, said Turkey, compared to European countries, might be affected more closely in case of an operation.
Serdengecti briefed the Council of Ministers about foreign currency rate, inflation, foreign trade deficit and balance of payments.
He also announced that the Central Bank was planning to start inflation targetting as of the middle of this year.