Italian FM says troops withdrawal from Iraq not linked to London blasts

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/12/content_3206799.htm

Italian FM says troops withdrawal from Iraq not linked to London blasts

www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-12 00:16:07

ROME, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini reiterated on Monday that the withdrawal of 300 troops from Iraq in September was already scheduled and in no way linked to the London terrorist attacks in London.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who made the announcement atthe end of the G8 summit in Gleneagles on Friday, has stressed that the initial withdrawal had been coordinated with allies and Iraqi officials.

"There is no link between Premier Berlusconi's announcement of the gradual pullout and the London bomb attacks," Fini told reporters after talks with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

Berlusconi had already complained during the weekend that the Italian press had blown the news out of proportion.

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