May 27, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1424

NEW DELHI, May 26: India’s security cabinet has decided to seek clarification from the United Nations before considering whether to send troops to Iraq as part of an international force, a top official said on Monday.

India will, however, return an ambassador to Baghdad, said Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal after a meeting of the cabinet committee on security (CCS).

The United States has requested that Indian troops deploy as part of the international force, but New Delhi was reportedly weighing its decision because the troops would be under US and British command, not UN command.

“India welcomes the fact that the UN Security Council has reached an agreement on the way forward in Iraq as expressed in UN Security Council resolution 1483,” Mr Sibal told reporters after the meeting.—AFP