By RIA Novosti
United Nations : Russia's envoy to the United Nations has asked for a deadline for the withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq after the UN Security Council extended their mandate Thursday.
Multinational forces have been stationed in Iraq to ensure security ever since a US-led coalition invaded to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein in March 2003.
"We must fix a deadline for the multinational forces, which we admit irritates many Iraqis, to withdraw from the country", Vitaly Churkin said at a Security Council meeting in which Russia also backed extending the mandate.
Last year's Security Council resolution extended the mandate for a year and sanctioned its review by June 15.
The Russian diplomat said fixing a deadline would help achieve national accord and dialogue in the country, which is hovering on the brink of civil war, and would help involve all ethnic and political groups in government work.
"It is not about immediately announcing a specific date. But for Iraqis, I suppose, it would be important to see the prospects of the full completion of the foreign presence in their country", Churkin said.