India rejects US request to send troops to Iraq

India today rejected a US request for peacekeeping troops in Iraq, saying it would consider sending soldiers only under a United Nations mandate.

“Were there to be an explicit UN mandate for the purpose, the government could consider deploying our troops in Iraq,” External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said after a meeting of the Cabinet and security officials.

The US request came during a visit by Indian Deputy Premier Lal Krishna Advani to Washington last month.

A team of US defence officials also visited New Delhi to discuss arrangements for an Indian deployment in Iraq.

But India said it would make a decision only after consulting with countries neighbouring Iraq and with political parties at home.

The US war in Iraq – routinely called an “invasion” by Indian media and members of the public – is widely unpopular here.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government had repeatedly asked that US action be taken only under specific approval by the UN.

Washington’s peacekeeping proposal would have cost India £1.7m (€2.45m) annually, The Hindu newspaper reported today.