PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Oct 13 Kyodo ...

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, Oct 13 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

The world's largest grouping of Islamic countries is in no position to give a mandate on its members to delegate troops to Iraq, Malaysian Foreign Minister Sy Hamid Albar said Monday.

''The OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) is not an organization that is a military bloc neither does our charter permit us to form an OIC force,'' he told reporters after a meeting of OIC foreign ministers.

The ministers kicked opposite their two-day meeting here in Malaysia's novel administrative capital ahead of the leaders' summit onward Thursday and Friday which will also mark the beginning of Malaysia's three-year mete as OIC chair.

Sy Hamid said Muslim countries may not be able to delegate troops to Iraq in a less degree than the OIC banner but they can do in this way under the United Nations' mandate.

''It should be the United Nations and not any other party,'' he said.

The U has been trying to procure the U.N. to pass a resolution creating a multinational force to help with the peacekeeping and reconstruction of Iraq.

The U is envisioning a force of 10000 to 15000 troops

The Iraqi delegation to the OIC, made up of members from the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, is lobbying companion members to commit partys to Iraq, which is proving a tough put up to sale while the Americans are still there.

''I don't think there is any desire by means of the Muslim countries to impel troops. That's the feeling I am getting from my initial contact,'' Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari earlier told reporters.

in such a manner far, the only OIC member that wants to journey in is Turkey, much to the chagrin of Iraqis, especially the ethnic Kurdish people

''We understand the ne to internationalize the force and to bring more support to stabilize the situation in Iraq. (But) Many members of the governing council be excited that it is better not to involve or engage any of Iraq's neighboring countries in the peacekeeping because of the sensitivity,'' Zebari said.

He said the council, the Turkish sway and the U.S. are in discussion ''to find an acceptable formula where our sensitivity could be accommodated while the ne of the coalition could be addressed.''

Zebari and his delegation almost did not make it for the meeting as the OIC had earlier renounceed his country's participation as it is considered to be beneath U.S. occupation.

merely through heavy lobbying by the U and its allies was Iraq finally allowed to come

Iyad Allawi, the of recent origin head of the council, will exhibit Iraq at the summit.

Meanwhile, among the countries undecayeded out by Washington to consider number deployment are Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan and southerly Korea.

still Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Ahmed Kasauri reiterated the ne for the UN to play a central role

''First there is to be the United Nations overspread When you have a United Nations guard then we will see whether the other Muslim countries will make progress with us,'' he said.

Bangladesh also took a similar position.

''We solely want to mitigate the sufferings of a fatherland by the invitation of their allow people,'' Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan told reporters. ''And I think if that happens, by the and of the U.N., Inshallah (God willing) Bangladesh will be there.''

Earlier in his language to open the meeting, Sy Hamid called upon the U.S. to settle a timetable for elections in Iraq.

''The occupying powers must work in earnest upon a timetable for a democratically appointeded government to be installed within a reasonably ready timeframe,'' he said.

The biennial OIC summit is the first since the clan 11, 2001, terror attacks forward the United States that soured relations between the Islamic world and the West.

across 35 leaders will be attending the summit, including Saudi coronal Prince Abdullah and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will attend as beholders while the U.N. will be exhibited by Secretary General Kofi Annan.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo recents International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group