Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer said he opposes to sending troops to Iraq for peace keeping unless the United Nations adopts a resolution, Turkish Posta daily reported on Wednesday.

A UN resolution was necessary to ensure international legitimacy, Sezer said, adding a NATO decision was not sufficient.

Meanwhile, Turkish Chief of General Staff Hilmi Ozkok also stressed Tuesday that it was impossible to send Turkish troops to Iraq without parliament approval.

In a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Ozkok said a parliamentary decision should be taken as the base and then political directives should be given to the Turkish armed forces.

"If the permit is passed in parliament, the rationale of the issue will be explained to the general public," Ozkok noted. "Then it will be explained to the local leaders in Iraq and to the European countries."

He said contacts with the forces in Iraq were important to prevent resistance to Turkish soldiers, similar to that the US troops were facing.

The Turkish armed forces could get ready in 45 days if a final decision is taken to send troops to Iraq, Ozkok said, adding that the invitation from the interim Iraqi Governing Council to send troops could not be accepted as legitimate.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2003)