BAGHDAD, 4 July 2004 — Neighboring countries who wish to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq could guard United Nations missions and personnel, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday, in an apparent change of heart.
Iraq has repeatedly refused to accept neighboring countries’ troops on its soil, fearing their presence might exacerbate ethnic tensions. “These countries can support the work of the United Nations in Iraq ... by protecting their teams and installations,” Zebari said.
“We are still considering and examining this question,” he told a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Geoana. But he reiterated Iraq’s opposition to neighbors joining the multinational force patrolling the country.
“As a general policy we’re opposed to such participation,” said Zebari, adding that other Arab and Muslim countries could take part. “In principle, we welcome the participation of Arab and Islamic forces coming from non-neighboring countries.”
The office of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who had previously said Iraq did not want peace-keeping soldiers from neighboring countries, thanked Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their offers to train security forces.
“Dr. Allawi expresses gratitude to Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan’s King Abdallah and the UAE’s Sheikh Zayed for their immediate and brotherly offer to help Iraqi armed and security forces with equipment, training and technical assistance during this dangerous moment in the country’s history,” his office said in a statement.
Jordan was among the first Arab countries to offer to contribute troops and assistance to Iraq. There was no immediate word on Egypt’s and the UAE’s apparent offers.
Bahrain’s King Hamad said yesterday his country was ready to participate in a naval force to secure Iraq’s territorial waters should Baghdad request its help, while Yemen said its earlier offer to contribute to a stabilization force was conditional on a prior withdrawal by the US-led military forces.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Al-Bayati indicated Friday the country would most probably turn down a fresh offer of troops from neighboring Jordan.
King Abdallah told the BBC on Thursday: “If the Iraqis ask us for help directly it will be very difficult for us to say no.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher downplayed the remarks on Friday, saying they were a gesture of support to Iraq after it regained its sovereignty on Monday. Jordan has helped train hundreds of officers for Iraq’s new army and thousands of police recruits for the new Iraqi police.
