SHARM EL SHEIKH - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul who is currently in Egypt on an official visit, said on Sunday, ''it is easy to wage a war. But, situation after a war is more dangerous.''
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.
Prime Minister Ebeid said that Turkey and Egypt could cooperate in tourism, agriculture and technical fields.
Noting that mutual high-level visits between Turkey and Egypt would continue in the future, Prime Minister Ebeid said that they had held a beneficial meeting.
When asked whether or not Syria and Egypt shared Turkey's concerns about protection of territorial integrity of Iraq, Prime Minister Gul said, ''of course... We all attribute great importance to territorial integrity of Iraq. Territorial integrity of Iraq should not be divided, and natural resources should belong to Iraqi people. This is an important issues. It is easy to wage a war. But, situation after a war is more dangerous. Especially President Mubarak has focused on these issues.''
Responding a question about possible developments after announcement of report of the United Nations Security Council on January 26, Prime Minister Gul said, ''anything can happen in the region.''
''As you know, State Minister Kursad Tuzmen will pay a visit to Iraq in coming days and convey Turkey's message to Iraqi administration. Iraq should fulfil its responsiblities and abide by resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,'' he said.
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources said that during Prime Minister Gul's meetings with President Mubarak and Prime Minister Ebeid, the sides explained their common concerns that a possible war would lead to chaos in the region, and that such a chaos would negatively affect economy of regional countries, and that territorial integrity of Iraq would be damaged in a possible war.
While Prime Minister Gul's meeting with his Egyptian counterpart focused on bilateral relations between Turkey and Egypt, the issue of Iraq was high on agenda of the meeting between President Mubarak and Prime Minister Gul.
During the meeting, the sides stressed that relations between Turkey and Egypt were far away from the desired level, and noted that the two countries should cooperate in agricultural technology, natural gas, energy and technical training.
President Mubarak said that they had fulfilled their responsibilities to warn Iraq, and stressed that they were ready to hold consultations with Turkey on the issue of Iraq.