Putrajaya, Oct 17: Leaders of Iraq's US-appointed government today welcomed the newly adopted UN Security Council resolution aimed at attracting more troops and money for their country and speeding up its independence, but again warned against the deployment of Turkish troops. ``It was very good,'' Iraqi Foreign Minister Hosyar Zebari said of the resolution. ``It is a major step forward to have an international consensus on Iraq.''
The UN resolution, unanimously endorsed yesterday, is seen as a partial diplomatic victory for Washington after its earlier bitter dispute with other Security Council nations over the US-led attack on Iraq and subsequent occupation of that country. Pakistan, a nation that Washington hopes might also send forces, said today, "We can't look like an imposition. We don't want to be considered as hostile, if we go at all, it will be based on the fact that we are invited by the Iraqis," Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said. Meanwhile, South Korea said today it would seek ways to support a US-led United Nations resolution aimed at getting more troops and money to help stabilize Iraq. Bureau Report