The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Istanbul

Baghdad and the United Nations should draw up a plan for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday. "The withdrawal of the foreign forces from Iraq must take place based on a plan that is introduced by the government of Iraq," Mottaki told reporters on the sidelines of a multinational conference here on Iraqi security. "Based on that plan, the United Nations should make a decision to end the mission of the foreign forces on an agreed date," he said. Mottaki was speaking after talks here between foreign ministers from Iraq's neighbours and major Western powers on efforts to stabilise the war-ravaged country. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon are also attending the conference.