PM Gul: "U.S.-Iraq War Avoidable"
"Iraq is like Pandora's box. This box should not be opened."
Albert Aji, Associated Press Writer, DAMASCUS, Syria - Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul discussed the Iraqi-U.S. standoff with Syrian leaders Saturday in a bid to reinforce Turkey's relations with the Arab world ahead of a possible war with Iraq.

Turkey opposes military action in Iraq, its southeastern neighbor. But it also depends on Washington's support for massive International Monetary Fund loans and has not ruled out letting American forces use Turkish bases to attack Iraq, as the United States did in the 1991 Gulf war.

"We still believe that this problem can be solved without war," Gul told reporters after talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Turkey and Syria agreed to coordinate efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the problem."

Assad did not make himself available for comment.

Gul, who also had lunch with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa Miro, urged the Iraqi government to cooperate with U.N. arms inspectors, whose chief has accused Baghdad of failing to account for all the material it produced in the past for weapons of mass destruction.

"Iraq should make an extraordinary effort and comply transparently with U.N. resolutions, leaving no space for suspicion," Gul said.

The United States has threatened military action against Iraq unless it cooperates fully with the U.N. disarmament process.

Gul returned to Ankara later Saturday but was scheduled to begin a quick tour of the Middle East on Sunday, visiting Egypt, Jordan and possibly Iran. He also planned to fly to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 11.

His diplomatic initiative is seen as a bid to show the Turkish public that its government has done all it could to prevent a war. Turkey, the sole Muslim member of NATO, fears being alienated in the Islamic world if it chooses to support the United States in a war with Iraq.

The Turkish leader is also slated to visit Egypt, Jordan and possibly Iran in a Middle East tour that is seen as a bid to show the Turkish public that its government has done all it could to prevent a war. Turkey, the sole Muslim member of NATO, fears being alienated in the Islamic world if it chooses to support the United States in a war with Iraq.

Turkey also fears that a U.S.-led invasion that topples Saddam Hussein could provoke the Kurds of northern Iraq to secede and promote secessionist aspirations among the Kurds of southeastern Turkey. A long running insurrection among Turkey's Kurds has quieted only in the past two years.

Iraq is like Pandora's box, Gul told the Turkish newspaper Aksam in an interview published Saturday. "This box should not be opened. Iraq should not disintegrate because it would be impossible to put everyone back into that box again," he said.

Syria is one of the most vocal opponents of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq.

Syrian-Turkish ties have improved sharply since the late 1990s, when Turkey threatened military action against Syria over its hosting of Turkish Kurd rebels. The threat forced Damascus to expel Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

During the past three years, Syria and Turkey have signed military and security agreements on, among other things, fighting cross-border criminal gangs.

However, they are still at odds over Syria's claims to Turkey's Hatay province, and the sharing of water from the Euphrates River.