Gul: Searches For A Peaceful Solution To Iraq Issue Continue

DOHA - Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that Turkey's searches for a peaceful solution to Iraq issue continued.
Gul, who is in Doha, Qatar, to attend the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said that the OIC had an important role in solution of Iraq issue.
Speaking at the summit, Gul said that they were experiencing important days.
Gul noted, ''we have focused on two important developments. On one hand, weapons inspection continue in Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations (U.N.), on the other hand, there is an important military tension in our region. We have to be frank and sincere in expressing our views and what we see these days.''
Muslim countries could suffer major damages due to the regional developments and could face some developments which could led to several uncertainties, Gul underlined.
Gul said that Turkey was Iraq's neighbor and attached importance to relations with Iraq.
''Their sorrow is our sorrow. Some miscalculations have an effect on not only us, but also the Iraqi people. All people living in the region were directly affected by developments that occurred during and after the Gulf crisis,'' Gul said.
Gul stated that Turkey had exerted diplomatic initiatives for the last two months to find peaceful solution to Iraq issue and informed the participants about his tour to the region and Istanbul summit.
They tried to minimize the war risk in the call they made after the Istanbul summit, Gul pointed out.
Gul noted that the declaration issued at the end of the summit was prepared in an active cooperation with the U.N.
The declaration put forth support of the six countries that attended the summit to Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity, Gul stressed.
Gul said, ''unfortunately, Iraqi administration did not prefer making efficient use of this opportunity.''
He expressed his views to the Iraqi head of state and his deputies, Gul noted.
Gul said that they stressed importance of cooperation with the U.N. during their contacts.
They tried for a peaceful solution and today's problem was the urgent and efficient implementation of the U.N. Security Council no 1441 resolution, Gul stated.
Gul said, ''we see that the Iraqi government is in an increasing cooperation with the U.N. in recent weeks. We hope that this will be a full cooperation.''
Iraq's decision to destroy Al Samoud missiles was a response given on time, Gul said. But, he added, this would not be sufficient.
(BRC-AÖ) 05.03.2003