OTTAWA — Ottawa has no intention of sending Canadian troops to Iraq, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Monday.

Published reports have suggested that the United States wants Canada to send a small group of soldiers to Iraq, triggering questions in the House of Commons.

NDP Leader Jack Layton demanded during question period that Martin hold a vote in the House before troops might be sent.

But Martin went one better, saying no vote was necessary because no soldiers would be committed to the troubled Middle East nation.

"We refused to send Canadian troops to Iraq two years ago. That decision stands,'' Martin told the Commons.

"Canadian troops will not be going to Iraq.''

The issue of foreign troops serving in Iraq is expected to be on the agenda when Martin travels to Brussels later this month for a NATO summit.

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew, who is travelling in the Mideast, made a similar comment on the weekend.

On Sunday, Pettigrew denied a report that Canada was considering sending a small number of troops to Iraq to train the Iraqi army. He left open the possibility, however, that such training could be done in neighbouring Jordan.

Last weekend, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper also backed away from the idea of sending Canadian soldiers to Iraq.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Harper supported the notion of sending Canadian troops.

But Saturday in Halifax, Harper said he now has reservations about that, given the fact the military is stretched very thin and says it's short on equipment.