Azerbaijan considers sending Mideast peacekeeping troops

Mammadyarov said a final decision on whether to send peacekeepers with the U.N. force to southern Lebanon would be made after the troops' status and mandate were firmly determined, the Associated Press reports.

"We must know for sure what the situation is like, with which mandate as well as how and where Azerbaijani peacekeepers will be deployed - only after that can a decision be made," Mammadyarov told reporters.

European Union nations are trying to raise troops for the 15,000-strong force, but many nations have been reluctant to commit soldiers without safeguards to ensure they don't get sucked into new violence between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas.

The ex-Soviet, Caspian Sea nation has 150 troops serving in Iraq in support of the U.S.-led coalition there. The troops mostly serve as sentries, on patrols and protecting a dam.

Mammadyarov also said some Azerbaijani citizens remain in Lebanon, and that Baku had sent humanitarian aid there.

The statement came as President Ilham Aliyev hosted Jordan's King Abdullah II, on his first official visit to the oil-rich nation.

/www.easybourse.com/