September 3, 2003	Wednesday	Rajab 5, 1424

NEW DELHI, Sept 2: United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Christina Rocca, will arrive in India this month to discuss the situation in Iraq, and a proposal for a new United Nations resolution, it was reported on Tuesday.

Rocca is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit from September 9-11, the Indian Express newspaper reported. On July 18, India turned down a US request to deploy 17,000 soldiers to Iraq.

India’s External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told parliament the government would only consider joining the stabilization force under an explicit UN Security Council mandate.—dpa