Turkish party backs U.N. resolution on Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey -- The Islamic-rooted party that won recent elections in Turkey supports the U.N. resolution that demands that Iraq disarm or face military action, a top party official said Saturday.

Abdullah Gul, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party and a contender to be Turkey's next premier, reiterated Turkish fears that military action on Iraq would be too costly for Turkey's frail economy.

"(War) would put a huge burden on Turkey, that is why the best thing would be for there not to be any war," Gul told reporters.

"But we don't want weapons of mass destruction in a neighboring country or in any other country ... we want to be sure that they do not exist," Gul said.

Gul's statements came a day after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution that gives weapons inspectors broad new powers to go anywhere at any time to hunt for any chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in Iraq. Baghdad has until Friday to accept the resolution or face "serious consequences" -- diplomatic shorthand for a military attack.

The Justice party won a massive election victory on Nov. 3 but its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cannot become prime minister because of a 1998 conviction for reading a poem which courts deemed to be in violation of Turkey's secular laws. Gul is a strong contender for the post of premier.

The party met Saturday for further talks to discuss who to choose as premier. Gul said there was no decision.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Erdogan refused to commit to allowing U.S. warplanes to use Turkish bases in any war with Iraq.

Turkey is struggling to recover from a recession that has left 2 million people unemployed. There are also fears that fighting in Iraq could motivate Iraqi Kurds, who control an autonomous zone in northern Iraq, to declare an independent state if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein were ousted. That in turn could inspire Turkey's own independence-minded Kurds to seek independence.

Turkey was a key launching pad for U.S. aircraft during the 1991 Gulf War. The United States already has some 50 planes in southern Turkey at Incirlik air base which patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq.