Danish premier arrives in Baghdad

May 24, 2006, 8:11 GMT

Copenhagen/Baghdad - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived Wednesday in the Iraqi capital Baghdad following a surprise visit the previous day to Danish troops stationed in the south of the country, news reports said.

Rasmussen and Defence Minister Soren Gade had visited the 530- strong Danish contingent there under British command.

Before being flown to Baghdad via helicopter, Rasmussen and Gade were briefed on the security situation in southern Iraq by Major Bent Bech, a member of a unit engaged in training Iraqi forces to take over security tasks.

'It is important that the handover is not conducted too hastily,' Bech told Danish news agency Ritzau.

The Danish contingent's mandate is due to expire July 1, but the government has asked parliament to extend the mission for 12 months.

Rasmussen told Ritzau Tuesday he was not able to set a date for when the Danish contingent should leave.

Over the weekend, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested Baghdad would set a timetable for when the US-led troops would leave.

Two major opposition parties, the Social Democrats and the Social Liberals, have said they would not support a decision to extend the troop's mandate beyond July 1.

Rasmussen told Ritzau he was 'disappointed' over their stance, but said it would not change his government's Iraq policy.

'Foreign and security policy is to a large extent a matter of credibility,' he said, adding that Denmark would stay on 'as long as it is at the request of the Iraqi government and backed by the United Nations, and that we feel our efforts make sense.'

Rasmussen's government can still rely on the backing of the Danish People's Party for a majority.

Three Danish soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the US-led Iraq invasion in 2003.