- BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters)
- Turkey, a key NATO ally, urged the United States on Friday not to attack
Iraq, saying the country did not pose a threat to its neighbors.
-
- "We feel that Iraq should not be the subject of
military attacks because it would upset the whole Middle East,"
Turkish
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters after meeting European leaders
at an EU summit in Barcelona.
-
- "Since the Gulf War, Iraq has been under strict
control...It is under constant surveillance so it is not in a position
any more to inflict any harm on its neighbors or even against its
people,"
Ecevit said.
-
- The United States, which led a coalition of countries
against Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, has warned Baghdad that it must
"face
the consequences" if it does not let international weapons inspectors
return to the country.
-
- EU leaders were expected to discuss Iraq during their
two-day summit in Spain, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder telling
reporters that there were no plans at present for a strike against Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein.
-
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