Turkey to send peacekeeping forces to Iraq without UN sanction

The Turkish leadership intends to send military troops to Iraq without waiting for a UN resolution on the question, according to newspaper Hurryet. After the conclusion of a meeting of the country's leadership, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that Ankara will not wait for the approval of the world community and in the near future will send 1 thousand soldiers to Iraq. Moreover, Turkey will send a special commission to Iraq to evaluate the situation.

Sezer said that the Turkish leadership was inspired by the statements by US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz who highly appreciated the peacekeeping efforts of Turkey in Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Sezer said that Turkish troops will not battle in Iraq and will be used for stabilizing the situation in the country. In the future Turkey plans to send a contingent of up to 10 thousand military troops to Iraq.