Monday, October 4, 2004
Italy wants Muslim forces to take over in Iraq
Agence France-Presse Rome, October 4
Forces from Muslim countries should gradually take over from foreign troops based in Iraq, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Monday.
"We should tell our Arab friends that...there is a process of political stabilisation guided by the UN and that we need a commitment on the ground from Muslim nations," Frattini said in an interview with a leading Italian newspaper.
"We have to seek a gradual transition from the present multinational force to majority Muslim multinational contingents," he told Corriere della Sera.
He added that any future decision to withdraw Italian and other foreign troops from Iraq could only be weighed in the light of this commitment.
Frattini also said Rome would keep its forces in Iraq until their mission was complete.
But he did not rule out the possibility of a withdrawal at the end of 2005, when according to the UN timetable there will be a representative government and an elected parliament in place.
"It is impossible to set a date or to say that there will be automatic decisions. The important thing is to complete our mission," he said.
Rome said on Sunday that it supported a US-proposed international conference on Iraqi elections scheduled to take place in Egypt next month.
Italy has 3,000 soldiers and police currently serving in Iraq.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.