AFYON - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said on Saturday that Turkey's existence in Northern Iraq would continue.
Gurel responded to the questions of reporters in Aegean Afyon province.
When asked if Turkish Armed Forces made additional military heap up in Northern Iraq, Gurel said Northern Iraq should remain with Iraq's territorial integrity.
Pointing out that Turkey was closely interested in the developments in Northern Iraq, Gurel said, ''we hope that nobody will force Turkey to take some other measures. Our interest and existence in Northern Iraq will continue. If necessary we will take additional measures.''
Responding to a question if they would make a warning to Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani, Gurel said Barzani and Talabani were not the interlocutors of Turkey.
''But if they lead their communities there, we advise them to listen to our warnings,'' Gurel said, adding that, ''because health and security of their community were under the guaranty of Turkey so far. If they want this to continue, they should act according to this.''
When journalists recalled the preparations of Northern Iraqi groups to set up federative structuring, Gurel stressed that whole of Iraqi people have the authority to make a decision on Iraq.
Gurel said that the United States considered forming a new order in every part of the world as its right especially since the September 11th terrorist attacks.
''When the United States considers this as its right, we tell our American friends that if a solution is searched to the regional problems outside peaceful methods that is if a new military intervention is made in the region, its results will not be limited with the region but will spread to a large area. It will have painful effects,'' Gurel noted.
Gurel added, ''to this end, we are saying that we have to search for peaceful solutions. That is, we don't want any intervention. We are telling our friends that it will not be for the benefit of the United States of America.''