KAYSERI - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Sunday that the biggest role in preventing war belonged to Iraq.
Speaking in a dinner in central Kayseri province, Gul said that the whole world monitored the developments in Iraq. Noting that Turkey also closely followed up the developments, Gul said that ''we can't turn a blind eye on the Middle East if a war breaks out there. We must closely monitor the developments and everything which concern our interests. The next two weeks are very critical. These two weeks are very important to stop a war... Iraq has to use well these two weeks. The steps Iraq will take will prevent both the occurrence of such a war and also prevent the region from suffering.''
''The government in Turkey took an initiative in order to sort out the problem by peaceful means. I toured the whole Middle East and I met with the presidents and prime ministers of five countries. Later, we held the foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul and we issued a declaration and we will continue to do so for a peaceful solution... On the other hand, we must prepare the country regarding negative scenarios. This responsibility is given to the government by the Constitution. While we launch initiatives for peace on the one hand, we must act by taking into consideration the national interests of Turkey on the other hand.''
''If a war breaks out in the Middle East, we can't turn a blind eye to it because we have a border with Iraq... We are not a country which is far away... We must make our preparations. I will explain these to our people at the right time,'' Gul said.
Gul pointed out that whatever can be done for peace should be done in one-two weeks, adding that ''I would like to call the whole world, the Middle East and particularly Iraq that Iraq has the power to prevent the war the most. The steps to be taken by Iraq will both prevent a war and also the suffering of the region.''