By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russian foreign minister Wednesday said that setting a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq could help stabilise the situation in the war-torn country.
“We understand the position taken by the Iraqi government that without foreign troops they cannot resolve security problems. However, we still think that it would be right to set some approximate timetable for pulling out the troops,” Sergei Lavrov told journalists at a press conference here.
“This could somehow calm the situation down,” Lavrov said, adding that “national reconciliation” in Iraq was the key to solving the current conflict.
“More decisive steps are needed for the establishment of national unity and putting an end to feuds,” the Russian minister said, and adding that “this can only be done through the political process.”
In December, the UN Security Council approved a draft resolution extending the mandate of the US-led multinational force in Iraq by another year.
In line with the document, 160,000 troops will remain in Iraq until the end of 2008, as “the situation in Iraq continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security.”
The draft resolution states that troops can only be withdrawn earlier than this if the Iraqi authorities make a request to the UN.
In an interview with Time magazine published in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Washington to set an exact date for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.