BAGHDAD, August 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani flew into Baghdad Monday, August 26, saying he hoped to prevent a new war over Iraq.

"We are trying to save the region from new tragedies because whatever happens in Iraq affects the whole region," Sheikh Hamad told reporters on arrival.

"Qatar is doing its best to calm the situation because the region cannot tolerate any new jolts.

"We are of course opposed to any military operation (against Iraq) and have always said that (disarmament) must be settled through diplomacy within the framework of the United Nations," he said.

The minister expressed hope that talks with Iraqi officials would "achieve a result that takes us away from a (U.S.) military operation, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"We don't have a message to deliver to our brothers in Iraq. We have some ideas which we'll share and we will listen to what they have to say in the hope of reaching satisfactory results," he said.

Sheikh Hamad stressed that Qatar was not acting as a mediator between the United States and Iraq.

Iraqi authorities must "cooperate, accept UN resolutions and consider the question (of the return) of inspectors," he added.

Qatar is bound by defense agreements with both the United States and Britain, and is home to a huge U.S. air base at al-Udaid, 35 kilometres (20 miles) southwest of the capital.

However, the tiny emirate was nonetheless the first Gulf state to reopen ties with Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War.

And during a June visit by Trade Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal al-Thani, Qatar became the third Gulf state to sign a free trade agreement with Iraq after Oman and the United Arab Emirates, AFP said.

U.S. press reports have suggested that the United States may use Qatar as its principal base in any attack against Iraq, given the opposition to military action from its key Gulf ally Saudi Arabia.

U.S. newspapers have reported that the U.S. military is preparing to transfer to the emirate equipment and some of the 6,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in Saudi Arabia to bypass Saudi objections.

"America has not asked us until now for new military facilities or mentioned a military operation. It is only information propagated by certain newspapers," Sheikh Hamad said.