London - Britain said Monday it expects to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, while Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said his country, a US ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, would pull its remaining 900 soldiers out of Iraq by the end of 2007. And Italian Premier Romano Prodi said the last of Italy's soldiers in Iraq some 60-70 troops will return home this week, ending the Italian contingent's presence in the south of the country after more than three years.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne was the second senior official in recent days to talk of reducing the number of British troops in Iraq. In a speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Browne also warned Iran that it faces increasing isolation if it does not use its influence in Iraq constructively.

Last week, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Britain may be able to hand over security responsibility in the southern port city of Basra by the spring of 2007. Britain also hopes to hand security control over to the Iraqis in the province of Maysan on the Iranian border in January.

"We have said that we and the Iraqis hope they will be ready to take over Maysan in January," Browne said. "We have said and the foreign secretary reiterated last week that we hope they will be ready to take over Basra in the spring.

"If both of these go to plan, we will be able to start drawing down our forces."

Browne said that handing over security would not mean a complete British withdrawal.

"I do not believe it is right to give precise numbers, nor to assume what the next 12 months will hold."

"But I can tell you that by the end of next year I expect numbers of British forces in Iraq to be significantly lower by a matter of thousands. The planning for this has been going on for some months."

Any troop pullback, he said, would be "driven not by arbitrary deadlines but by reality on the ground."

"We will stay as long as we are making a positive difference, and as long as the Iraqi government need our support," Browne said.

Sectarian divisions in Iraq will not be resolved quickly, Browne said, but he argued against dividing the country into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish sections, warning that doing so would destabilize the region further.

The defense secretary also called on Iraq's neighbors to support efforts to calm the violence.

"Even Syria, whose motives the international community has often had cause to question, has shown signs of constructive engagement," Browne said.

Syria's foreign minister has indicated his country is willing to help stabilize Iraq, and on a visit to Baghdad last week he announced the full restoration of diplomatic relations.

Iran's behavior, Browne said, remained troubling. The US, Britain and others have accused Iran of providing support to Shiite militias blamed for much of the sectarian killing in Iraq. Iran has denied the claims.

Iran "has influence inside Iraq, the power to turn up or turn down the heat, to turn on or turn off the dialogue. It is not using that influence well," Browne said.

"Iran's interest is in a stable and non-aggressive Iraq," he added.

"So the message to Iran is simple. Be a constructive partner, help yourself as well as the wider region or face increasing isolation."

Thousands of British troops could remain in Iraq for another decade, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said yesterday.

Speaking at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Mr Browne said that he expected to withdraw a substantial number of the 7,200 British Armed Forces in southern Iraq by the end of next year.

The reduction will be possible when British soldiers hand over responsibility for Maysan and Basra, the last two provinces under their direct control. Maysan is due to be transferred in January and Basra in April. “If both these go to plan, we will be able to start drawing down our forces,” he said. “By the end of next year I expect the numbers of British Forces in Iraq to be significantly lower, by a matter of thousands.”

Whitehall officials expect the number to be halved but British Forces will remain at brigade strength with armour and air support at Basra airport and the Shaiba logistics base south of the city.

Yesterday’s announcement did little to satisfy demands at home and in Iraq for American and British forces to set a timetable for a complete withdrawal. “Des Browne will have to try much harder if he wants to satisfy calls for a detailed plan for withdrawal,” Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said. “Vague assurances are not enough.”

Italy, once a significant contributor with 3,000 troops in southern Iraq, said yesterday that the last of its forces would leave the country this week. Poland said that all its 900 soldiers would be home by the end of next year. Japan withdrew this year and many other states plan to follow suit.

Mr Browne insisted, however, that reducing the size of the British contingent in Iraq did not mean that Britain was withdrawing, and said that there was no timetable for a full pull out. “We need to be clear: the handover does not mean withdrawal,” he said.

British Forces will remain to back up the Iraqi police and Army and help to protect the vulnerable supply routes from Kuwait used by US forces to bring food, fuel and ammunition to their bases in central and northern Iraq.

For the first time Mr Browne also suggested that the British could embark on a new role that would last for five to ten years. This would be to bolster the Iraqi armed forces until they are capable of maintaining order at home and of defending the country’s borders.

“Our long-term relationship with Iraq will depend on the Iraqi Government’s position and on the circumstances,” he said. “I am not at this stage seeking to set out what the level of troop deployment will be in five or ten years’ time.”

One crucial factor shaping Iraq’s future could be the role of its powerful neighbours, Iran and Syria, who are blamed for stoking the violence by helping Iraqi insurgents and militants. The Iraq Study Group, an influential American review panel, is expected to recommend to President Bush next month that he open talks with Damascus and Tehran to help to stabilise the situation in Iraq.

Mr Browne said that Syria had recently “shown signs of constructive engagement” in Iraq by sending its Foreign Minister to Baghdad to announce the full restoration of diplomatic relations. He added, however, that Iran’s behaviour remained a cause of deep concern and he accused Tehran of backing groups attacking British Forces.

Britain’s defence minister has said his country will reduce by “thousands” its 7,100-strong force in Iraq by the end of 2007.

Des Browne said in a defence policy speech in London: “I have been pressing our planners … to make sure we do not ask a single soldier to remain in Iraq longer than is necessary.”

Addressing the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House, Browne said: “The planning for this has been going on for some months.

“I can tell you that by the end of next year, I expect numbers of British forces in Iraq to be significantly lower, by a matter of thousands.”

“In the end of course, it must depend on conditions on the ground, including the level of threat and the capacities of Iraqis to deal with it, and the final decision will be down to our commanders,” he said.

Since May 2003, 126 British troops have been killed in Iraq. Most UK soldiers there are based in and around the southern city of Basra.
Dividing Iraq “no solution”

Browne also said: “Dividing Iraq into Sunni, Shia and Kurdish areas might appear seductive but it would not solve sectarian tensions.

“A divided Iraq would also threaten regional stability. Even without that division, Iraq is vulnerable to becoming a crucible for wider regional tensions.

“It is vital now that Iraq’s neighbours give it full support and undivided support.

“Even Syria, whose motives the international community has often had cause to question, has shown signs of constructive engagement.”

Margaret Beckett, the British foreign secretary, said last week that Britain may be able to hand over security responsibility in Basra by the spring.