Gul In Jordan

AMMAN - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Monday that the Iraqi administration should very clearly, and in a way that would not lead to any hesitation, prove that there are not any dangerous chemical weapons in its country. Gul said, ''if any war erupts in the region, consequences of the war would be against the region beyond the estimations.''
Gul held a news conference in Turkey's Embassy in Amman regarding his contacts in Jordan.
Pointing out that he was very pleased to be in friendly country Jordan, Gul said he had very beneficial meetings with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Ebu Ragip and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Gul said, ''there is a very big crisis and a very big problem which we are face to face,'' stating that ''the active peace diplomacy which Turkey is in was an effort to prevent the crisis without war.''
''As the possible developments would occur in our region, those countries and our peoples will suffer the most from this. All the countries and nations have great responsibility to put an end to this crisis without war. Sometimes there may be an understanding that, 'everything has been decided, there is nothing to do'. However, we should not forget that there are always final steps to take for a peaceful solution,'' Gul said, adding that, ''when we consider the past, this has many examples. Steps that have been taken in the last minute always prevented very big disasters.''
Gul stated that the target of their visits was to talk everything with the regional leaders openly, and to reveal everything with open heart what they think about their countries. Gul said, ''the aim of the visit is to jointly review the steps that could be taken, to speak about the issue, to reveal the opportunities, and to make everything together if possible.''
Pointing out that the visits reached its goal in this respect, Gul said he had beneficial talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
''It is our common opinion that we have to do everything that can be done and there can still be more to do. There is a common view about concerted efforts that can be exerted and common steps that can be taken. I would like to once more remind that Iraq has the biggest responsibility when I am saying that everyone has a responsibility. This is our common view. The U.N. resolution is very clear and experts are working in Iraq,'' Gul said.
Gul noted, ''the Iraqi administration has to prove that there are not any dangerous chemical weapons in the country clearly and without any need for hesitations. To this end, U.N. officials have to be in a very good cooperation. They should not spend this period with dealing with tactics. Because, if a war erupts in the region, its results will be much more in the region than the predictions.''
Stating that the status quo post bellum would be very concerning, Gul said that this issue was voiced more in Syria, Egypt and Jordan.
Gul stressed that circles drew attention to instability in the event of an unprevented war.
''To this end, all of us in Turkey attribute great importance to this. Iraq's territorial integrity has to be protected and Iraq's resources have to be used for Iraqi people,'' Gul said.
Gul noted that Palestinian issue was also taken up during his contacts and that it was stressed that as long as the issue continued, sensitivities of regional people would continue.
Turkey's relations with Jordan, Syria and Egypt were reviewed during his contacts, Gul pointed out.
Gul said that political will was shown to improve those relations.
Expressing his full belief that his visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday would also be held in a similar atmosphere, Gul said, ''our efforts aim to prevent a war.''

GUL: WHAT WE SEARCH FOR DURING THE TALKS IS TO FIND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT WAR
Gul, who held a news conference in Turkey's Embassy in Amman regarding his contacts in Jordan, responded to the questions of reporters.
When asked whether or not they discussed departure of Saddam Hussein from Iraq to go to somewhere else, Gul said they did not discuss this issue.
Gul said, ''what we search for during the talks is to find what can be done to prevent war. Different views have been put forward. There are different issues and there are still many things that should be done. I have stated my views within a large framework. Everybody has a determination, and we believe that there are many things that can still be done, and there is mutual determination to fulfill those altogether.''
When a journalist said, ''it was reported in today's newspapers that Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said 'we will search whether or not we have rights in Mousul-Kirkuk oils'. Is this the state policy or the personal views of Mr. Yakis,'' Gul said, ''Turkey's policy is extremely open. We attribute importance to the preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity. Iraq's resources should be spent for the benefit of Iraqi people. Of course commercial relations and mutual efforts would be further improved after peace and stability are provided in the region.''
Gul said, ''there will be joint ventures. Many companies will be established, and all the countries in the region will benefit from the blessings of the region. There will be construction services.''
Responding to another question Gul said he had visits to prevent the war and to solve the problem through peaceful means, stating that, ''we have talked about all those. There are various ideas. May be some of them will become mature. Don't forget that this process will continue. However we decided that continuous consultations should continue, and to send special envoys or make telephone conversations when necessary to protect this process.''
When a journalist said, ''if we want an open response to Yasar Yakis's statement. Are those his own views or does Turkey have such a study because he said they were launching studies,'' Gul said, ''I don't fully know what the Foreign Minister said. Our Foreign Minister knows very well that Turkey's policy is the preservation of Iraq's territorial integrity. This is a point which we focus on. If there are studies which the historians independently have, those are separate things.''
Gul said Turkey's state policy was to preserve Iraq's territorial integrity and to distribute Iraq's resources to Iraqi people in an equal way.
Responding to a question Gul said, ''obviously the U.N. officials will present their reports on January 26. We will altogether see with the world. Those will be official reports. I want to reiterate once again that everybody has responsibility to this end. Countries in the region, Iraq, and the United States should do their utmost to provide peace. War should be the last thing. Everybody should do his best to prevent war.''
Gul said, ''the U.S. President Bush and State Secretary Powell have statements in this respect. They say there are still efforts for peace. Recent statement of the U.N. Secretary General is open. Thus, we should take all those into consideration.''
Responding to a question about the request of the United States for military base from Turkey, Gul said Turkey was a democratic country.
Stating that decisions that would be taken by the Turkish government would be discussed in the parliament, Gul said sending of the Turkish army abroad or deployment of foreign country soldiers in Turkey is under the authority of the Parliament.
When a journalist said, ''can one of the planned alternatives be announcement of a joint declaration which will include peaceful solution of the problem between Turkey and Iraq's neighbors Arab countries, and Iraq's territorial integrity,'' Gul said all those could happen. Gul stressed that many concerted things could be done, and that all those were discussed. He said those will be revealed when things become more mature.
Gul said the visits were very beneficial, stressing that very sincere talks were done. He said everybody conveyed each other what they know.
He said the regional countries have concerns for a possible war, adding that everybody exerted extreme efforts to prevent war.
When asked whether or not he thought of meeting with Saddam, Gul said, ''it may be... We will think on it when talks end.''