The United States is not planning to take military action against Iraq "in the near future", Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Tuesday after talks with US Vice President Dick Cheney.
"There is no decision (by the US administration) to carry out a military strike against Iraq," Ecevit told reporters outside his office.
"Cheney underlined that there will not be an operation against Iraq in the near future," he added.
The United States has threatened military action against Iraq to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if he refuses to allow the return of UN weapons inspectors. Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, is opposed to such strikes, fearing the economic ramifications as well as political implications in the region.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov for talks Tuesday that were expected to mainly deal with the US threatened military action against Iraq.
It was understood that Ivanov might also hold discussions with Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon during his visit to London. However, according to government sources, there was no meeting arranged with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In an interview with the Times newspaper last Friday, the Russian Foreign Minister warned that he hoped the United States and the United Kingdom "do not make the same mistake again" in Iraq.
He added that a military strike against Baghdad would cause a "serious blow" to the American-led coalition against terrorism, however stopped short of saying it would lead to Moscow's withdrawal.
Russia "cannot but be concerned" about the unilateralism in US policy, he was quoted as saying, adding that only the United Nations was authorized to act against countries breaking Security Council resolutions, IRNA reported.
On Iraq, Ivanov said that Moscow wanted to see an end to all of its weapons of mass destruction, but believed that the chance of a political settlement had not yet been exhausted.
Russia over the past year has clashed with the US over its decision to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile. More recently, it has criticized the recent leaking of a Pentagon report suggesting the US was willing to use nuclear arms in the context of a first strike. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
