ANKARA, September 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Amid fears in Turkey that a U.S. strike on Baghdad would trigger regional turmoil, the United States and Iraq sent top officials to Ankara Monday, September 30, each seeking to win Turkish support in their standoff over weapons inspections.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz flew in to Ankara and denied his country could soon develop weapons of mass destruction, saying Washington's claims that Baghdad was a threat were ridiculous, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"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 at the airport ahead of talks with top Turkish officials.

"Iraq made a very honest and wise decision to invite the [U.N. arms] inspectors. This proves that Iraq is telling the truth and it does not have weapons of mass destruction," Aziz added.

Referring to talks between Iraqi officials and U.N. arms inspectors in Vienna, he said, "We will listen to the demands of the inspectors. We will help them learn the truth through scientific methods."

Aziz, whose arrival coincided with a visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones, was scheduled to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit Tuesday, October 1.

The Iraqi Minister was to deliver a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Sezer on the "latest developments in the region and the continuing U.S. threats of a new strike against Iraq," an Iraqi source said earlier in Baghdad.

Aziz called on Ankara to oppose U.S. military moves against Baghdad, stressing that such moves would "threaten not only Iraq but the whole region."

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

Meanwhile, 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 U.N. Security Council resolution to ensure Baghdad's compliance with U.N. weapons inspectors.

"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 U.N. 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 neighbor for fear it could exacerbate its own deep economic crisis and destabilize the region.

Jones and Aziz were not expected to meet during their stay in Ankara.

Turkey provides bases to U.S. and British warplanes tasked with enforcing a northern no-fly zone over Iraq, set up after the 1991 Gulf War but not sanctioned by any U.N. resolution. Its support is seen as crucial to any U.S. military offensive against Iraq.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Elizabeth Jones (R), with Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel

But the Turkish government publicly voiced its opposition to military moves against Iraq and Ecevit said last week that U.S. and British suspicions that Iraq had the capability to develop nuclear weapons did not justify war.

Ankara fears it could incur significant losses if Washington attacks Iraq at a time when it is trying to overhaul its economy with a multi-billion-dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.

In their meeting with Jones, Turkish officials listed Ankara's economic concerns, Anatolia news agency reported.

War could raise oil prices, scare off foreign investors, hit tourism, upset internal economic balances and impede border trade in the entire region, Jones was told, according to Anatolia.

Turkey estimates its losses, mainly from the U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, at about 45 billion dollars.

According to a report issued Monday by the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council, U.S. military action against Iraq could cost the Turkish economy an additional 20 billion dollars next year.