UK: No plans to quit Iraq

2007-07-29 14:34

London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not unveil a plan for an early withdrawal of British troops from Iraq in talks with US President George W Bush on Sunday, Brown's spokesperson said.

Brown sets out later on Sunday for his first meeting with Bush since succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister last month.

Speculation has been rife in British media that Brown could distance himself from Blair's policy on Iraq. Opposition to the war contributed to the pressure on Blair, a staunch supporter of US policy there, to step down early after a decade in power.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported a senior aide to Brown had sounded out Washington on the possibility of an early British troop withdrawal from Iraq.

It said Simon McDonald, Brown's chief foreign policy advisor, had left the impression he was "doing the groundwork" for Brown when he asked a group of US experts this month what they believed the effect of a British pullout would be.

However, Brown's spokesperson told reporters the prime minister would not unveil a plan to withdraw British troops, who are due to remain in southern Iraq until the Iraqi army is capable of maintaining security.

"Simon McDonald made very clear at the meeting that the British government's position had not changed," the spokesman said in London prior to Brown's departure.

However, he said that decisions "clearly have to be made" on when to hand over control of Basra to Iraqi forces.

The head of the British military said on Thursday that Britain should be in a position to hand over control of Basra by the end of the year.

In a statement on the eve of his departure, Brown dismissed talk of cooler relations with Washington, saying the bond between the countries remained strong.

"It is a relationship that is founded on our common values of liberty, opportunity and the dignity of the individual," he said. "And because of the values we share, the relationship with the United States is not only strong but can become stronger in the years ahead."

Brown will hold talks with Bush at Camp David before travelling to New York for a meeting with United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Brown will also give a speech at the United Nations.

Brown's office said talks with Bush would cover the Middle East peace process, the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, climate change and how to reinvigorate global trade liberalisation talks.

- Reuters