Batu: Turkey Should Not Support A Possible Military Action Against Iraq

ANTAKYA - Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Inal Batu said on Sunday that Turkey should not support a possible U.S.-led military action against Iraq.
Speaking at a conference in southern province of Hatay on the issue of ''Iraq and Cyprus'', Batu said, ''Iraq has 14 percent of world oil reserves. The United States will not pay the cost of a possible military action from its own budget. The cost will be met from the oil reserves in Iraq. Turkey should not support a possible U.S.-led military action against Iraq.''
Referring to the Cyprus question, Batu said, ''if the plan, which was presented to the sides in Cyprus by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, is put into practice, Turkish Cypriots will lose whatever they have gained, which they got as a result of long-standing struggles.''
''Implementation of the plan will also bring forth serious economic and political problems,'' he added.
(UK-AÖ) 24.02.2003