ANKARA, Sept 30: The United States and Iraq sent top officials to Ankara on Monday, each seeking to win Turkish support in their standoff over weapons inspections, amid fears here that a US strike on Baghdad would trigger regional turmoil.

US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones was the first to come courting, holding talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and other officials on plans for a tough new UN Security Council resolution to ensure Baghdad’s compliance with UN weapons inspections.

“We have a very strong agreement with Turkey on the importance of ... assuring a new resolution so that it is clear to Iraq that it is terribly important to the international community for Iraq to fulfill its obligations,” Jones said after the meetings.

The return of UN arms inspectors to Iraq was important, she said, “but it’s not just about getting the inspectors in. It’s about getting disarmament in Iraq.”

Turkey, a close Muslim ally of Washington and a NATO member, is currently opposed to any military action against its southern neighbour for fear it could exacerbate its own deep economic crisis and destabilize the region.

Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz later flew in to Ankara, denying that his country has weapons of mass destruction and warning that a military operation against his country would have dire consequences for the entire region, including Turkey.

“London and Washington have made threats on groundless pretexts... To say that Iraq is a threat to the United States is ridiculous,” Aziz told reporters through an interpreter on his arrival.

“I am confident that our friends, the Turkish officials, will adopt a stance in accordance with Turkey’s interests,” he said.

Aziz was due to meet Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer — to whom he will deliver a message from President Saddam Hussein — on Tuesday.—AFP