ENNIS, Ireland, Jun 26 (IslamONline.net & News Agencies) – NATO member states have decided to respond positively to a request from the Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad Allawi to train Iraqi security forces, diplomats confirmed Saturday, June 26.

Diplomats said the agreement was thrashed out in Brussels on Friday, June 25, after three rounds of tense negotiation that echoed last year's bust-up over the US-led Iraq war, reported Reuters.

It was adopted on Saturday after none of the 26 allies raised objections to the text before a 1000 GMT deadline.

"It's sorted out, there are no more problems," one diplomat said, referring to French reservations which had forced NATO envoys to go back to the negotiating table on Friday evening.

The agreement must now be given the formal green light by NATO leaders at their summit in Istanbul on Monday.

Persistent Tensions

US President George Bush is eager to share the burden in Iraq and is under pressure in an election year to obtain more international support for the Iraqi interim government, which is due to take over from the US-led occupation authority on June 30.

He told he told a news conference Saturday at the EU-US summit in western Ireland he would tell NATO allies during their upcoming summit that they have a responsibility to help train and equip Iraq's new security forces.

"NATO has the capability -- and, I believe, the responsibility -- to help the Iraqi people defeat the terrorist threat that's facing their country," Bush said.

"I hope NATO responds in a positive way," he added, referring to Allawi's request.

"Together we can forge a new relationship between NATO and the Iraqi people," Bush said.

The American president has lowered his ambitions for NATO support, partly because many European allies are militarily overstretched but mainly because France, Germany and other opponents of last year's invasion oppose an overt alliance role.

During the G8 summit, French President Jacques Chirac and Bush gave conflicting statements on whether NATO should help bring stability to war-torn Iraq.

Washington had hoped as recently as April that NATO could take command of the so-called multinational stabilization force currently led by Poland in central-south Iraq.

"We believe NATO ought to be involved," Bush said, admitting that "a lot of NATO countries are not in a position to commit more troops."

Chirac, a staunch opponent of the Iraq war, stressed it was not the "mission" of NATO to intervene in Iraq.

"Nor do I think it would be relevant or well-understood in Iraq," he added.

Diplomats said troop training in the violence-plagued country was the "lowest common denominator" that Washington and its closest allies could hope for.

Nevertheless, talks on even this role became bogged down on Friday as the United States and Britain pushed for a detailed and enthusiastic response to Allawi, while France and Germany favored a vaguely worded -- but still positive -- reply.

There were differences over whether NATO should train Iraqi officers inside the country under a NATO flag, or limit its role to training outside Iraq and acting as a clearing house for national efforts.

Diplomats said the agreed statement was vaguely worded and most details of NATO's training task would be negotiated later.