Turkey Joining 3 Other Nations in Effort to Prevent War in Iraq

"All our efforts are being made to achieve peace and prevent a war from erupting in the region whose repercussion would be very dramatic," he said.
Mr. Gul emphasized that during his discussions in Syria, Egypt and Jordan over the past three days he had agreed with the leaders of those countries "to consolidate our efforts all together."
"We are very much satisfied by these discussions," in which he said unidentified "steps" were taken. He warned that Turkey was "very worried by what could happen in the aftermath of an eventual war."
Turkey has been under pressure from the United States to commit itself to providing cooperation if the United States attacks Iraq. But the pressure has caused political turmoil within Turkey, with some officials expressing concern that Turkey could come to be seen as a kind of Muslim policeman for the West.
Mr. Gul said in his remarks today that Turkey would oppose any American-led action that would lead to the breakup of Iraq, its neighbor.
"The official policy of the Turkish republic is to preserve the unity of Iraq’s territory and that the entire Iraqi people benefit from the riches of Iraq," Mr. Gul said today.
He reiterated that his discussions in Syria, Egypt and Jordan did not broach the American suggestions that there should be a change of government in Iraq or the possibility of exiling President Saddam Hussein.
He also said any decision to allow American forces to be based in Turkey for a war in Iraq would be made by Parliament.