January 22, 2003	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 18, 1423

ANKARA, Jan 21: Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, will host a meeting on Thursday of foreign ministers of key regional players Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avoid war in Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis announced the initiative on Tuesday.

Heads of state and government of the six Muslim nations might later hold a summit meeting, he added.

The aim of the move is “to stop the approaching fire” by putting pressure on Iraq to intensify cooperation with the UN, Yakis told CNN-Turk television.

“What is important is, number one, for Iraqi officials to do whathever they can to facilitate the work of the weapons inspectors, and, secondly, for Iraq to cease to be a threat for its neighbors and regional countries,” he added.—AFP