Jordan's foreign minister on Tuesday implicitly criticised Turkey's decision to send troops into their joint neighbour Iraq.

Marwan al-Muasher, speaking after talks in Luxembourg with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, said Jordan welcomed the deployment of multi-national peacekeeping forces in Iraq, but made clear this should not extend to neighbours.

Turkey voted last week to send troops to Iraq at the request of the United States. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying in Malaysia on Tuesday they would stay for no longer than a year.

Muasher did not name Turkey directly, but was unambiguous.

"We do not think the introduction of forces by neighbouring countries is particularly helpful," he told a news briefing.

"The Iraqis themselves have made that point clear many times and it is why Jordan, for example, did not send peacekeeping troops to Iraq and chose instead to train Iraqi security officers in Jordan."

Jordan has offered to train 30,000 Iraqi police on its own soil.

"We believe that neighbouring states should refrain from sending in military troops to that country," he added.

Ankara's stand has been controversial at home and in Iraq.

Northern Iraq has a large Kurdish population, as does the bordering southeastern area of Turkey, and many fear Turkey's real aim is to nip in the bud any moves towards an independent Kurdish state.

Turkey's parliament refused permission for US and other forces to enter Turkey and use it as a springboard for invading Iraq in this year's war to oust Saddam Hussein from Baghdad.

Close

Today's Top News		Top International News
+Shenzhou V to fly Wednesday at earliest ( 2003-10-14) +A refuge for children of prisoners ( 2003-10-14) +Winds sink two ships, 44 feared lost ( 2003-10-14) +Nation expects EU to be largest trading partner ( 2003-10-14) +WHO experts to visit China on SARS ( 2003-10-14)		+South Korea rotates non-combat troops in Iraq ( 2003-10-14) +Spain to compromise on EU voting rights-newspaper ( 2003-10-14) +Kosovo Albanians, Serbs meet for first time since war ( 2003-10-14) +Croatia to help war tribunal, pursue EU bid ( 2003-10-14) +Jordan takes swipe at Turkey over troops for Iraq ( 2003-10-14)