India rules out troops for Iraq

"At the present time, we are not in a position to commit Indian troops," said Singh at a joint press conference with Blair at Downing Street, where the two leaders reviewed the situation in Iraq.

He added, however, that India has offered to retrain Iraqi police officers and those involved in humanitarian work, and to assist with "rehabilitation and reconstruction" efforts.

Besides Iraq, Blair and Singh were to cover a range of issues, including trade, global warming and disputed Kashmir.

Climate change is one of the main planks of Britain's chairmanship of the Group of Eight leading industrialised democracies next year, which does not include nations such as India.