"The best solution of all would be for Mr. Saddam Hussein to take a very, very long vacation from political power," David Welch told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.

"I don't know whether this is possible or likely, but yes, as far as the United States is concerned, a change of regime in Baghdad would be very welcome," he said, when commenting on the possibility of putting Saddam into exile.

Senior Iraqi officials have claimed that Saddam will never leave his homeland, amid reports that some regional countries are trying to persuade the Iraqi leader to go into exile to avert the US attack.

As for a Turkish proposal on holding a region gathering on the Iraqi crisis, the ambassador said, "The United States welcomes any effort that makes it very clear to the regime in Baghdad its responsibilities, which are to disarm completely, totally and immediately."

Turkey has invited presidents or prime ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran to the summit in an effort to push for a peaceful solution for the Iraq crisis.

A Turkish diplomat told Xinhua on Saturday that Turkey is pursuing close contact with regional countries on the conference.

"We have tried our best to avoid the war and spare the Iraqi people a danger which would lead to regional instability," the source said.

The United States, which accuses Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction, is stepping up preparations for a possible war onIraq, with more troops to be deployed in the Gulf region in the coming weeks.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2003)