ITALY: UNITED NATIONS ENVOY FOR IRAQ LAKHDAR BRAHIMI SAYS HE IS NOT SURPRISED AT SPAIN'S DECISION TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM IRAQ

Record ID: 338021

  • Title: ITALY: UNITED NATIONS ENVOY FOR IRAQ LAKHDAR BRAHIMI SAYS HE IS NOT SURPRISED AT SPAIN'S DECISION TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM IRAQ
  • Date: 21st April 2004
  • Summary: (EUROPE) BOLOGNA, ITALY (APRIL 19, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SLV ITALIAN AND EUROPE FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE MEETING VENUE; SLV CAR ARRIVING CARRYING ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANCO FRATTINI - FRATTINI GETTING OUT OF CAR; MEDIA (6 SHOTS) 0.24 2. CAR ARRIVING CARRYING U.N. ENVOY FOR IRAQ LAKHDAR BRAHIMI - BRAHIMI GETTING OUT; SECURITY (4 SHOTS) 0.43 3.
  • Embargoed: 6th May 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BOLOGNA, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVA4VJVQTK6I62CQATYR9692XZHV
  • Story Text: The United Nations envoy for Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi
    has said he is not surprised at Spain's decision to
    withdraw troops from Iraq.

    The U.N. special envoy for Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi met
    Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini on Monday (April
    19, 2004) afternoon in the latest of a series of meetings with
    key European officials to discuss the situation in Iraq.

    Following the meeting Brahimi said he had not been
    surprised by Spain's decision to withdraw its troops from
    Iraq.

    "Well I'm not surprised," Brahimi said at a news
    conference held in Bologna after the meeting.

    "I think the government had already indicated that
    they would go this way and I have no comment to make on
    this decision at this stage," he said.

    Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
    announced on Sunday that Madrid was going to withdraw its
    1,400 troops from Iraq as soon as possible.

    Zapatero had said previously he would pull out troops
    if the United Nations did not take charge in Iraq by June
    30.

    He said that he had decided to act now because there
    was no prospect of a U.N. resolution being adopted that met
    Spain's conditions.

    Many fear that the spiraling violence in Iraq will
    lead to problems with sovereignty being handed over to a
    caretaker government of Iraqis by June 30.

    "We have been concerned for quite some time," Brahimi
    said referring to the violence in Iraq.

    "And as you may have seen at the press conference
    just before I left Baghdad I indicated that the violence
    had to come down for this programme to unfold in the best
    possible conditions," he said.

    "There are some measures that need to be taken to
    help, perhaps, the situation stabilise itself," Brahimi said, not
    specifying what these conditions were.


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