Salih: If The United States Stages A Military Attack On Iraq, Regional Countries Including Turkey Will Be Affected

ISTANBUL - Trade Minister Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih of Iraq said on Saturday, ''if the United States stages a military attack on Iraq, regional countries including Turkey, will be affected negatively.''
Speaking at a seminar organized by the Turkish Exporters' Association (TIM) on ''Job Opportunities in Iraq'', Salih said that President Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Iraqi people considered Turkey a friendly and sister country.
''Our two countries have common targets. Therefore, Iraqi leadership has given priority to bilateral relations with Turkey. Turkey was on top of Iraq's list of ecomonic relations before the embargo. During the embargo period, our attitude did not change. Before the embargo, there were intense relations between Turkey and Iraq. Every transportation was made via Turkey and Turkish firms played active roles in important projects. In those days, trade volume between our countries was more than 2.5 billion U.S. dollars,'' he said.
Stressing that he had conveyed the messages of Iraqi leadership to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Salih said, ''I told Prime Minister Ecevit that relations between Turkey and Iraq should be increased to the highest level, we should set a lasting and long-term cooperation, and a cooperation agreement like the one signed between Iraq and Russia, should be signed between Turkey and Iraq. Prime Minister Ecevit told me that they were agreed with us in principle.''
''Within the framework of cooperation agreement signed between Iraq and Russia, the two countries will carry out joint projects in oil, industry, electricity, agriculture, transportation, communication, construction and health. These projects will cost forty billion U.S. dollars. We want to sign a similar agreement with Turkey,'' he said.
Pointing out that Iraq was rich of oil reserves, Salih said, ''we export 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, obtaining an income of 22 billion U.S. dollars. We aim at increasing our daily export to 6 million barrels in the next decade. A fund that will be raised through export of oil will finance the projects under a cooperation protocol between Turkey and Iraq.''
Noting that the issues of relations between Iraq and the United Nations Security Council, threat of the United States and impacts of this threat on the region were taken up during his contacts in Ankara, Salih said, ''if the United States stages a military attack on Iraq, regional countries including Turkey, will be affected negatively.''
''We have carried out preparatory works against a possible attack of the United States. We will resist against the United States upon God's will. Iraqi people are not scared or concerned of threats of the United States. We are ready. If the United States stages an attack, we will defeat it. We will not allow the United States to violate our rights and to interfere with our domestic affairs. The United States flees from setting up dialogue with us. It rejects living in peace. It does not try to reach and agreement with the Iraqi leadership. The economic, commercial, technological and scientific cooperation agreement signed between Iraq and the United States in 1987 is still valid. The United States signed the agreement with the same Iraqi leadership and the same Iraqi government. It applies double standard. The United States changes its attitude in line with its benefits. I conveyed all our views to Prime Minister Ecevit. And he underlined once again that it was necessary to protect independence and territorial integrity of Iraq. He also stressed that a peaceful solution should be found,'' he added.