India wants to avoid Iraq war

The Indian Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha, has told the parliament in Delhi that India will make every effort to prevent an American-led military strike on Iraq.

Mr Sinha described Iraq under Saddam Hussein as having been friendly towards India.

Mr Sinha said military action against Iraq would push up India's oil import bill and hit remittances from millions of Indians who work in the Middle East.

India supported the latest resolution by the UN Security Council that offers Iraq a last chance to give up weapons of mass destruction, but it has opposed a unilateral strike on Iraq.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service