ANKARA - Iraqi Ambassador to Turkey Talib Abid Saleh said on Thursday that there had been good relations and historical ties between Turkey and Iraq and added, however, if Turkey took part in a possible U.S.-led military action against Iraq, their approach to Turkey would change.
Saleh paid a visit to Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan.
Speaking at the meeting, Kutan said, ''all the grounds of this possible military action of the United States against Iraq are baseless. The first step was Afghanistan. Now, the second step will be Iraq. What will be the third step? I wonder whether Turkey will become the next target or not.''
''Approval of the motion about dispatch of Turkish soldiers abroad and deployment of foreign armed forces in Turkey will mean killing of at least 500 thousand innocent Iraqi Muslims unfairly. It will also mean our becoming a part of this massacre. Therefore, I call on deputies of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to cast their votes against the motion,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Saleh said in his part that the United States did not target only Iraq, but the whole region. He stressed that countries should not take part in such a war on the basis of moral and political principles.
''We hope that Turkish parliament will reject the motion today,'' he emphasized.
Noting that deputies should take into consideration the future relations between Turkey and Iraq before casting their votes, Saleh said that Turkish people displayed their anti-militarist attitude.
Noting that there had been good relations and historical ties between Turkey and Iraq, Saleh said that they considered Turkey a neighboring and Muslim country, but their approach to Turkey would change if Turkey took part in the possible U.S.-led military action.
(UK-AÖ) 27.02.2003