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ANKARA - The Turkish government will next week call parliament back early from summer recess for a vote on sending Turkish troops to Lebanon as peacekeepers, government spokesman Cemil Cicek said Tuesday.
"We have a plan for parliament to meet Tuesday (September 5) to discuss the government request to send troops," Cicek said in televised remarks after a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several ministers.
It is up to the parliament speaker to decide the exact date for parliament's new term, he added.
Parliament was previously set to return from summer recess on October 1.
The Turkish cabinet on Monday announced its intention to contribute troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), but underlined that it was still not clear how many troops would be sent and when.
Cicek later told reporters that Turkish soldiers would serve in Lebanon for at least a year, and that their mandate might be extended if needed, the Anatolia news agency reported.
He refused to say how many troops would go.
The Turkish press has reported that the country could send between 600 and 1,200 troops.
The contingent is to join a bolstered United Nations force to patrol southern Lebanon after a ceasefire came into effect this month to end weeks of violence between Israeli forces and Hezbollah Shiite militants in the country.
The foreign deployment of Turkish forces has to be decided by a government decree and approved by parliament.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) dominates the 550-seat Turkish parliament, making it highly likely that the decree will be adopted.
08/29/2006 15:16 GMT
