NZ's Iraq tour will not be extended, Clark says

12.00pm

Prime Minister Helen Clark has rejected her Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi's, request that New Zealand extend its Iraq deployment.

Mr Berlusconi, a staunch supporter of the war, made the request when the two met in Italy last week.

But Helen Clark said today New Zealand's engineering contingent was due home in September and "no consideration whatsoever" had been given to extending that deployment.

"I understand that there is likely to be a United Nations resolution come June concerning the pathway from here but, again, in terms of New Zealand being part of a multi-national force, which is patrolling streets, no thought whatsoever has been given to that," she told National Radio.

The UN resolution was likely to declare an end to the occupation, recognise the transfer of sovereignty to the appointed Iraqi government, endorse the people who formed that government and provide a mandate for a UN presence.

However, the UN presence was likely to be quite small and one that advised on the electoral process and the transition, Helen Clark said.

She was confident the June 30 deadline for the resolution would be met.

"I think it's certainly the desire of all countries that it happen and that a timetable through to elections at the end of this year, early next year, and then a new constitution to be put to people in October followed by yet more elections is likely to be the pathway through," the Prime Minister said.

"It's always possible that the UN might ask for some support with security for its own very small mission but that's quite a different matter from being part of a multi-national force patrolling streets."

New Zealand was considering offering financial support for the electoral process in Iraq and Afghanistan, Helen Clark said.

- NZPA