By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : A British official was quoted by Iraqi media on Saturday as saying that the United Kingdom had no timetable for pulling out its troops from Iraq.
John Wilks, the regional spokesman for the British government in the Middle East, told “Al-Sabah” newspaper that there was no timetable for the pullout of British troops from Iraq, hoping that security development in the country would lead to a complete hand over of security to Iraqi troops.
Wilks revealed that Britain would redeploy about 150 soldiers to Iraq in order to training Iraqi troops in Basra, adding that there was no agreement with the Iraqi government that regulated British present in the country.
Britain is willing to bolster relations with Iraq especially in the economic sector, affirmed Wilks.
US President George Bush affirmed after meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last month that it was too early to withdraw from Iraq. Brown also backed down last year from reducing the number of troops serving in Iraq.
There are currently about 4,200 British soldiers operating in Iraq.
Brown will be arriving in Baghdad within a few hours to hold talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nouri Al-Maliki and other top officials over means to boost cooperation between the two sides.