London, Aug 09: Britain and the USA are ready to support a new United Nations resolution on the reconstruction of Iraq facilitating India, Pakistan and other countries to join a UN-backed multilateral peacekeeping force, Valerie Amos, Britain's International Development Secretary, has said. "We're currently looking at the possibilities for another resolution and what that might mean, which issues it would cover," 49-year-old Amos said in an interview.
"A new resolution will give other countries including India, Pakistan and Turkey the domestic cover they need to contribute to a multinational peacekeeping force. There are some countries which would like to contribute to the peacekeeping effort but couldn't do that if there weren't another resolution," she said.
Amos, a Baroness, indicated that the United States - stung by the spiralling cost, in terms of both money and lives, of policing Iraq - is now beginning to see the benefits of the UN too. "The Americans are doing exactly the same thing (drawing up proposals for a new resolution)," she said.
According to a report, Britain is considering using its chairmanship of the UN Security Council next month to bring about a new resolution in order to provide a political basis for more troops to join the security operations in Iraq and ease the transition to democracy.
Bureau Report