With additional reporting by Saad Abdul Majeed, IOL Turkey correspondent

DAMASCUS, January 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul arrived in Syria Saturday, January 4, on the first leg of a three-country Middle Eastern tour as part of Ankara’s efforts to help reach a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis.

Gul, who is to meet with President Bashar Al-Assad, will have lunch with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustapha Miro before returning home in the afternoon, a Turkish diplomat in Damascus said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

He is expected in Egypt on Sunday, January 5, and in Jordan the following day.

Before leaving Turkey Saturday, Gul told reporters “the (Iraqi) problem should be resolved without a war because a war will affect all the countries in the region.

“It is essential to try all opportunities for a peaceful resolution and exhaust all diplomatic means,” he added.

Turkey, a key NATO ally and the only Muslim member of the alliance, has come under increased U.S. pressure to throw its weight behind any eventual U.S.-led strike on Iraq, accused of harboring weapons of mass destruction.

Turkey, because of its strategically important location and vital air bases, would be a linchpin in any U.S.-led attack, AFP said.

“We will review developments, work on different ideas and try to ensure coordination with the countries in the region in a bid to resolve the problem without a war,” Gul said.

He once again urged Iraq to abide by U.N. resolutions “without reservations and in a transparent manner”.

Ankara is concerned that a war in its southeastern neighbor would spark regional unrest, especially on the Kurdish-populated both sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border, as well as drag down its recession-hit economy.

Turkish-Syrian relations have improved markedly since 1998.

The two countries nearly went to war at the time over Syria’s harboring of Abdullah Ocalan, the fugitive leader of a Kurdish rebellion in Turkey, who later left the country.