Iraq would welcome NATO troops as the military alliance has agreed on training the Iraqi armed forces, said a spokesman for the interim Iraqi government on Saturday.

Gurgis Sada confirmed that Iraq has asked for help from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in training and equipping its forces to enable them fight insurgency more effectively. "We have asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for help with the training of the new Iraqi army. But if NATO shows that it wants to have troops on the ground alongside the multinational force, they would be most welcome," the spokesman said.

NATO has reached an agreement on training Iraqi armed forces and it is expected to be approved at a summit meeting due on June 28-29in Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey.

Source: Xinhua