The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq is premature and its impact would be devastating and disastrous, the visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Mahmud Zebari told the Czech news agency CTK in Prague on Monday.
It is vital for Iraqis to be able to provide for their security in their own right, Zebari said.
Without this, it is impossible for Americans and their coalition allies to leave Iraq, he said.
Zebari hoped gradual reduction of U.S. troops announced by President George W. Bush last week will not affect the security situation in Iraq.
Bush has approved a plan by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to gradually withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq as of September and reduce the force from 20 combat brigades to 15 brigades by next July.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told Zebari that the Czech Republic planned to continue to be active in Iraq and it would like the Czech-Iraqi economic relations to intensify in future.
Zebari expressed his thanks for Czech's political and moral support to his country.
It is reported that Czech experts have helped Iraq train diplomats, judges and police while Czech doctors have treated Iraqi children. Czech also invested in Iraq's oil industry.
The two ministers also signed a memorandum on mutual cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua
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