Iraq welcomes bigger Nato role
2003-12-04 19:43
Baghdad - Iraq would greatly welcome a heightened Nato role to help restore stability, interim foreign minister Hoshyar Zeybari told CNN television on Thursday.
He was speaking after United States secretary of state Colin Powell called on the North Atlantic alliance to become more involved.
"We as Iraqis would welcome very much all international efforts coming from other members of the international community to help us," said Zeybari.
"They can be helpful in this transitional period, but we believe Iraqis should be in charge," he added.
"It will add some more international legitimacy to this effort; it will help the efforts of the coalition more. There will be more participation in the effort.
European heavyweights not opposed
However, he added: "Iraqi people should be empowered with security responsibility. It may help in the short-term, but for the medium-term for the long-term, it is up to us."
In Brussels, Powell said after meeting his Nato counterparts, that none of them - including European heavyweights who opposed the US-led conflict - had spoken out against the idea of boosting the alliance's presence.
One plan could be for Nato to take over from Poland in leading a division of the multinational force in the country, he said, adding that such initiatives might be decided on next year.
"Not one single Nato member here today (or seven countries due to join next year) spoke against the possibility of an expanded role for Nato in Iraq.
"And that includes... France and Germany," he said, when asked whether Paris and Berlin had raised objections.
The Iraq war and the diplomatic battles that preceded it sparked the biggest crisis in Nato's 54-year history, as three anti-war countries - France, Germany and Belgium - opposed Alliance help for Turkey.
Powell noted that the 19-member alliance had already provided logistical support to the Polish division of a multinational force in Iraq, and that 16 Nato members were part of the coalition in the war-scarred country.