The United States has requested Romania to send protection and stabilization forces to Iraq to help maintain law and order in the Arab country, Romania's Rompres news agency quoted a Romanian Defense Ministry official as saying on Saturday.
The Defense Ministry will study the US request but a final decision is to be approved by the government, said George Cristian Maior, state secretary of the Defense Ministry.
Rompres did not say how many Romanian troops the United States had asked for.
Romania has dispatched 55 anti-biochemical troops to the Gulf region, who are now in Kuwait awaiting further orders.
The Romanian parliament approved on Feb. 12 a government decision to send to the Gulf region a 278-member force consisting of anti-biochemical troops, engineers, military policemen and medical officers.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2003)
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