Bush and Brown against 'artificial timetable' for Iraq (Roundup)

Jun 16, 2008, 17:55 GMT

US President George W. Bush (L) and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown leave a press conference in London, England, 16 June 2008. The pair discussed Iraq, Afghanistan and Coalition troop withdrawal. President Bush will finish his tour of Europe with a visit to Northern Ireland today. EPA/PETER MACDIARMID / POOL

London/Belfast - US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Monday attempted to paper over reported differences over troop withdrawals from Iraq by saying that 'no artificial timetable' should be set for a pull-out.

'I have no problem with how Gordon Brown deals with Iraq,' Bush said at a joint news conference in London, following reports of differences between the two leaders over British plans to wind down operations in Iraq, possibly by the end of this year.

After two hours of talks which also covered Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, the two leaders travelled to Northern Ireland, where Bush's seven-day farewell tour of European capitals will come to an end.

Earlier Monday, Bush had talks on the Middle East with Tony Blair, his former close ally and British prime minister, who is now special envoy of the so-called Middle East Quartet.

In Belfast, Bush praised the success of the Northern Ireland peace process during meetings with the province's new first minister, Peter Robinson, and his deputy, the Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness.

'Northern Ireland is a success story. Obviously more work has to be done. Progress made to date would have been unimaginable 10 years ago,' Bush said.

Countries around the world were looking to Northern Ireland and wondering whether they, too, could achieve peace and reconciliation, Bush said.

Referring to large-scale investment by US firms in the province, agreed at a special investment conference last month, Bush said: 'This is a good place for investment. Ultimately investment will help Northern Ireland reach its full potential.'

As the talks were under way at Stormont Castle, on the outskirts of Belfast, several hundred anti-war protestors demonstrated in the city centre against the visit of the US president and his policy on Iraq.

Police in London said Monday that 25 people were arrested during protests against Bush in the British capital Sunday. More than 2,500 people took part in the anti-war protests, which saw minor scuffles between demonstrators and the police.

In Belfast, Bush and Brown were later joined for talks by Brian Cowen, the new prime minister of the Republic of Ireland.

Bush was also scheduled to meet Ian Paisley, the province's veteran Protestant leader, who stepped down as first minister 10 days ago, before returning to the US later Monday.

After their talks in London, Brown stressed that there was still a 'job to be done in Iraq' for British troops, but he also emphasized that progress was being made in the training of Iraqi forces and in changing Britain's role from 'combat to overwatch.'

Brown rejected suggestions that troop levels in Iraq were being reduced in order to reinforce the British contingent in Afghanistan.

'You cannot trade numbers between the two countries,' Brown said. 'In Iraq there is a job to be done and we will continue to do the job, and there is going to be no artificial timetable.'

Bush praised Brown's stance on terrorism and his commitment to the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

'The first thing about Gordon Brown, he is tough on terrorism, and I appreciate it,' Bush told journalists. 'So should the British people ... You have been strong on Afghanistan and Iraq and I appreciate that. But more importantly, the people of Afghanistan and Iraq appreciate it.'

Bush admitted that the situation in Afghanistan was 'tough work.' However, it was necessary work in the interests of peace and security. 'The march to democracy is never smooth,' Bush said.

On Iran's nuclear programme, the two leaders appealed to Tehran 'not to choose the path of confrontation,' but said sanctions would be intensified if Iran continued with its hard line over the nuclear issue.

'My first choice is to solve this diplomatically,' Bush said about the conflict with Iran.

Brown said Britain wanted to do 'everything possible' to maintain dialogue with Tehran.

'But we are also clear that if Iran continues to ignore (United Nations) resolutions, to ignore our offers of partnership, we have no choice but to intensify sanctions,' Brown said.

'Our message to Iran is: You do not have to choose the path of confrontation,' Brown said.