U.S. to assist East Timor

U.S. to assist East Timor

WASHINGTON (Reuters): The United States will send troops to serve as observers in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in East Timor and provide more than US$70 million in assistance to the island this year, the White House said on Friday.

The White House said in a statement that the United States, which supported the efforts of the Australian-led international force known as INTERFET, would participate in the U.N. peacekeeping mission taking over from INTERFET.

"These efforts will complement our financial contributions to the peacekeeping operation, as well as humanitarian and development assistance to East Timor that will total over $70 million this year," the statement said.

The United States will also continue to stand by Indonesia in its "hopeful" democratic transformation, the statement said.

"In this way, we will contribute to the birth of two new democracies in a region where freedom and tolerance are taking root," it said.