Dhaka, Oct 05: Bangladesh will not send troops to Iraq without a United Nations mandate, Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said today after talks in New York with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. "We can`t send troops to any country under bilateral arrangement but only as (a) peacekeeping force under the UN," Khan said on his return to Dhaka, as quoted by the official BSS news agency.

Khan said that he discussed the Iraq situation with Powell on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The United States has been scouring South Asia looking for troops for a "stabilisation" force in Iraq. India and Pakistan have also both said they would only send soldiers under a UN aegis.

Bureau Report