Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked parliament for permission to send military units outside the country to prevent terrorist activity. The move follows Russia's offer of a $10m (£5.4m) reward for information leading to the killers of five Russian diplomats in Iraq last month.President Putin has submitted the draft decree to parliament's upper house. It would permit the deployment of military personnel outside Russia to prevent international terrorism. The upper house, known as the Federation Council, is strongly supportive of the Russian president. There seems little doubt that the draft decree will be approved.
The wording of the document, as quoted to news agencies by the Kremlin's press secretary, does not mention any country in particular.
But last week, President Putin ordered Russian agents to find and destroy the killers of the five diplomats in Iraq. Russia was shocked by the deaths and called on the coalition forces occupying Iraq to provide better security for diplomatic missions working there.