Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller has echoed projections of US and British officials that a troop withdrawal from Iraq could begin in 2006, Ritzau news bureau reported on Thursday.

"I hope that Iraq in 2006 will be ready to take care of itself, we can begin to pull out," Moeller said to Danish daily Berlingske Tidende.

"2006 could be the last year we are in Iraq, but that still depends entirely on the terror situation and whether a stable, democratic rule of law can be established," Moeller said.

The Danish parliament's approval of 550 Danish troops' presence in Iraq's Basra region ends in February, but is expected to be extended until July.

Peter Viggo Jakobsen from the Danish Institute for International Studies said a Danish troop withdrawal was likely to occur either in summer or by the end of 2006.

Britain, which has command over the Danish area of operations around Basra, has said they would like to move their Iraq forces to Afghanistan.

"In six months, we'll be faced with a decision," Jakobsen said. "If the British withdraw in 2006, I'm sure we would follow along. As soon as they leave, we don't want to be there by ourselves."

Source: Xinhua