Estonia not to renew mission in Iraq

TALLINN 's TheEstonian Defense Ministry has announced that it will not send another infantryunit to Iraq. Estonia will maintain three staff officers in the country as part of the NATO trainingmission.

Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo told a government meeting onThursday that one of the reasons for the discontinuation of the mission is that Estonia failed to reach agreement with the Iraqi government on the accord concerningthe status of the troops. The next Estonian infantry unit, ESTPLA-18, will therefore not be deployed in Iraq.

Aaviksoo said there were three reasons why the mission in its present formwas ended. The first is the stabilization in the security situation in Iraq.

"The second is that according to the Riigikogu [Estonian parliament] mandate, concluding anagreement on the legal status of our soldiers was a prerequisite for thecontinuation of Estonia in Iraq,on which it is not possible in the light of the decision by the Iraqiparliament to reach an agreement satisfying both sides," said theminister.

The third reason is that the Iraqi government has clearly expressed the wishto continue bilateral defense cooperation in a non-combat form.

Defense cooperation between Estonia and Iraq willcontinue in other forms in accordance with a bilateral agreement that is nowbeing drafted.

The previous Estonian combatunit, the 34-strong ESTPLA-17, returned from Iraq shortly before Christmas. ESTPLA-18 is manned and has been in readiness fordeployment.

The Estonian defense forceshave been taking part in the mission in Iraqsince June 2003.