SHARM AL SHEIKH - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Sunday, ''a possible war will not be beneficial to our region. Such a war will affect all regional countries negatively. Therefore, we have some responsibilities to fulfill. We are determined to expend efforts with the aim of preventing a possible war till the end.''
After partaking in a luncheon hosted by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Gul and Prime Minister Atef Ebeid of Egypt made a joint press statement.
Recalling that he had paid a visit to Syria yesterday, Prime Minister Gul said, ''I am happy to be in Egypt today. We held very beneficial meetings with Egyptian officials. Both the recent crisis in the Middle East and the bilateral relations between Turkey and Egypt were taken up in the meetings.''
''We reviewed opportunities to further improve our cooperation in trade, economy and tourism. The sides have pledged to do their utmost to further develop cooperation between Turkey and Egypt,'' he said.
Recalling that he had held a meeting with President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Gul said, ''Mr. Mubarak is one of the most experienced and important statesmen in the region. He played important roles in many crises. Therefore, we exchanged views on the recent crisis in our region. As I said before, my tour to Middle Eastern countries aims at finding a peaceful solution to this crisis. We believe that there are many things to do before a military operation. Because, a possible war will not be beneficial to our region. Such a war will affect all regional countries negatively. Therefore, we have some responsibilities to fulfill. We are determined to expend efforts with the aim of preventing a possible war till the end.''
''You can consider these visits an active search for peace. I will go to Jordan tomorrow. I will meet with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa later today. The Arab League is one of the most important organizations in the Arab world,'' he added.