- ANKARA (AFP) - Iraq will
not attack any nations in the region if the United States goes ahead with
a military operation against it, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz
told a press conference here.
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- But he did say Iraq would strike back at US forces. Washington
has been threatening military action to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
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- "We are not going to retaliate against anybody in
the region except the American aggressor who violates our territory,"
Aziz said.
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- "But that is going to damage the future relations
between the people of Iraq and Turkey," he added.
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- Ankara, he suggested, "can play an important role
in preventing a US agression on Iraq."
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- "If Americans and the British decide to attack Iraq
they have to use regional resources," he said referring to the use
by the United States and Britain of military bases in the region, especially
that of Incirlik, in southeastern Turkey.
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- On Tuesday, Aziz said Iraq would no longer consider Turkey
a friendly nation if it allowed US forces to use Incirlik for a military
operation. US and British warplanes currently use the base to enforce a
"no-fly zone" over northern Iraq.
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- Turkey could also coordinate its political efforts with
other countries who are opposing the American aggression," Aziz suggested.
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- Turkey, a close US ally, has recently made plain its
opposition to a US military operation, saying UN inspectors should be allowed
back into Iraq to finish their monitoring work.
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- Aziz also rejected a US call for a new UN Security Council
resolution on weapons inspections in Iraq. This came after Iraq and the
United Nations had reached a deal in Vienna on the resumption of inspections
without new resolutions.
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- "This proposal of the United States is unacceptable,"
he said.
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- "There is no need for a resolution... the standing
resolutions of the Security Council concerning the inspections are valid
and they are enough for the perfect performance of the inspectors in their
job," Aziz said.
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