DAMASCUS -- Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara accused the United States of wanting to take control of Middle East oil resources in its standoff with Iraq, in remarks published Saturday, AFP reported.

"We reject the principle of an American attack against Iraq, whatever the objectives may be. There is no difference between the desire of the United States to overthrow the Iraqi regime and its attempts to control oil," Shara said in remarks carried by the state-run press here.

"Only the people have the right to overthrow the regime of their country ... no country will accept U.S. control of the world's oil resources," he added. Asked about Damascus' position toward the possibility of an independent Kurdish state emerging in northern Iraq as a result of any U.S.-led strike against Baghdad, Shara reiterated "Syria's support for the territorial integrity of Iraq, as well as that of all countries in the region."

Shara is scheduled to visit Ankara on Monday for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Yasar Yakis, and Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.

Gul, who visited Syria on January 4 on the first leg of a regional tour aimed at boosting efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraq-U.S. standoff, headed for Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Turkey and Syria, which both border Iraq, fear a breakup of that country resulting from a war could raise nationalist sentiment among their own Kurdish minorities and cause instability.