ISTANBUL - Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said on Saturday that Party of European Socialists (PES) were in full consensus to give peace in Iraq one more chance.
Baykal, who returned from Brussels where he attended an extraordinary meeting of PES on Iraq, told reporters that the meeting was very fruitful.
''The main understanding came out of the meeting is that a war in Iraq is not unavoidable. The participants reached a common consensus that yielding to idea of war is no way acceptable. All parties insist on intervention of the United Nations (U.N.) once more. The participants reached a full consensus of opinion that the U.N. should make a second evaluation and the weapons inspectors should be given the possibility to work efficiently in order to disarm Iraq and give peace in Iraq one more chance,'' said Baykal.
Baykal noted that they decided to urgently hold a meeting which would be attended by social democrat party leaders in order to prevent a military action against Iraq.
Such a war would be a big disaster for the region, Baykal stressed.
Baykal stated that he had the opportunity to tell about the position of Turkey as a political party close to the region of conflict and added, ''there is common sense in Europe and I hope there is also common sense in Turkey.''
(BRC-AY) 23.02.2003