ANKARA, March 20: Turkey’s Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit expressed relief on Wednesday over a US assurance that Washington was not planning imminent military action against Iraq.

“I feel greatly relieved” after US Vice-President Dick Cheney said in talks here on Tuesday that Washington was not planning to strike Iraq “in the near future”, Ecevit told the NTV news channel in a live interview.

“This does not mean an operation against Iraq has been totally ruled out,” Ecevit said.

“But I do not think there could be military action in the coming few months,” he added.

The Turkish prime minister said that Cheney’s remarks constituted a “good opportunity” for the Iraqi regime to reconsider its refusal for UN weapons inspections to resume.

“I want to make a serious warning to Iraq. If it opens up its doors to arms monitors, the United States could be expected to take a more positive stance,” Ecevit said.

He underlined that Washington was still concerned over Baghdad’s alleged development of weapons of mass destruction and wanted to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“My observation is that the US administration has not yet reached a decision on how they will do this,” Ecevit said.

He reiterated Turkey’s concerns that military strikes against Iraq would deliver a serious blow to Turkey’s crisis-hit economy, and especially the tourism sector, which is a vital source of revenue.

Ankara also fears that turmoil in Iraq could lead to an independent Kurdish state in the north, which in turn could fan separatist sentiments among Turkey’s own Kurds in the southeast, where a 15-year Kurdish rebellion has eased since 1999. —AFP