Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday that Australia would not be involved in ongoing occupation of Iraq but would not withdraw until the country was stabilized.

"I have no desire to see Australia involved in some ongoing occupation of Iraq and we won't be but you have to stabilize the place," Howard told Radio 2GB.

"You have to protect those Iraqis who want to live their lives in freedom and then exercise the right to tell the rest of the world to leave them alone," he said.

He also said there could be a small increase in the number of Australian troops serving in Iraq, pointing out Australia did not have the capacity to send large numbers of additional troops.

Howard, a close ally of US President George W. Bush on Iraq, has reiterated his government's determination to keep the troops in Iraq despite the announcement by several members of the US-led coalition forces of withdrawal or plans of pullout from the Middle East country.

Howard returned from Iraq on Monday after a lightening visit to attend the ANZAC Day dawn service with some of Australian servicemen in Iraq to boost their morale.

Meanwhile, Howard said he was considering attending a world summit on Iraq in Paris in June, adding he had received an invitation but had not made a decision.

The summit, which marks the 60th anniversary of World War II's Allied landing in Normandy, France, will be attended by European heads of state and leaders of coalition forces in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua