United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday welcomed a Turkish Parliament decision to authorize the deployment of Turkish troops to Lebanon as a part of a UN peacekeeping force, REPORTED DPA. Speaking in Ankara at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Annan said the decision of Turkey and other countries to send peacekeepers was a sign of international solidarity. The Turkish Parliament on Tuesday night voted by 340 to 192 in favour of a government-sponsored motion to send troops to Lebanon. The Turkish force is expected to be involved in distributing humanitarian aid, training Lebanon's army and is expected to involve a naval element to patrol Lebanese waters to prevent arms smuggling. Erdogan on Wednesday said details such as the exact numbers of Turkish troops that are to be sent to Lebanon, where they will be deployed and what their exact role will be, would all be decided in meetings between Turkish and UN officials in the coming days. Both Erdogan and Annan stressed that the UN peacekeepers would not be involved in disarming Hezbollah fighters.
