ISTANBUL - Iraqi Ambassador in Ankara Talip Abid Saleh has said that they did not accept the joint declaration that had been released after the meeting of foreign ministers of six countries in Istanbul, as a ''warning''.
''We consider it a call'', he said.
Saleh attended a panel discussion on ''Importance of Iraq's Integrity for Global Peace'' organized in the Akgun Hotel in Istanbul on Saturday by the Turkish-Iraqi Friendship Association.
Replying questions of reporters, Saleh said, ''we do not accept this joint declaration as a warning. We consider this declaration a call to Iraq. Such calls were made in the past. Upon call of Turkey and other friends, we opened our doors to the U.N. inspectors. We wished that also the United States had been included in this declaration. Because, there will be an attack on us. Overseas forces are coming. Any call was not made to them. The declaration was not balanced.''
Noting that attitude of Germany and France was against war, Saleh said that Iraq continued and would continue to cooperate with the U.N. inspectors, adding, ''we wish that there would not be a war.''
When asked whether or not the joint declaration had been conveyed to Iraqi Head of State Saddam Hussein, Saleh said that the declaration had been conveyed through ''diplomatic ways''.
Defending that Iraq was actually doing all the things mentioned in the declaration, Saleh added, ''they say cooperate with the inspectors, we do it and they say respect your neighbors, Iraq is actually respectful to its neighbors.''