TALLINN - Estonia's parliament on Wednesday extended the mission of Estonian troops in Iraq until the end of the year and left open the possibility of keeping troops there in 2006 if the United Nations extends the mandate of coalition forces.
The decision, passed with 56 votes for and five against in the 101-member legislature, fell short of the parliamentary defence committee's proposal to extend the mandate for one year.
"The Iraqi constitutional government is expected to take office on December 31, 2005," Sven Mikser, head of the defence committee, told parliament.
"But Estonia has already received signals from its coalition partners that the political deadlines in Iraq may be extended," Mikser said, urging parliament to prolong the Estonian troops' mission until next summer.
Estonia's new coalition government, which took office last week, supported a six-month extension, and that only after a compromise between the ruling parties, one of which wanted to pull out from Iraq while another wanted to extend the mission by one year.
Estonia, which joined the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last year, has had an average of 45 soldiers serving with US-led forces in Iraq since June 2003, and has lost two men in combat.
Currently, Estonia has 32 soldiers in Iraq.
04/20/2005 17:42 GMT