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Turkish premier predicts Iraq war will be averted
Tehran Times Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Sunday that the outbreak of war on Iraq is unlikely. Premier Gul told reporters even U.S. President George W. Bush prefers a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis. At this point, he's hoping to scare Sammy out of office. I don't think that'll work, and if it did, it would raise further problems that we'll have to clean up ten years from now... Gul said his tour to the regional countries is aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the problem and even the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell believe that the Iraqi crisis should be settled through peaceful means. Referring to the fact that Turkey insists on the territorial integrity of Iraq, Gul rejected reports that Turkey is reasserting claims dating back to the Ottoman Empire over the oil-rich Iraqi regions of Kirkuk and Mosul. The claims were attributed to Foreign Minister in the English newspaper, the Daily Telegraph. Yasar Yakis said he was "examining treaties from the early 20th century to see whether Turkey had a claim to the oil fields of the Mosul and Kirkuk provinces, which the Turks ruled during the Ottoman Times." Becoming an oil producer would help the Turkish economy along... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-01-13 |
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