US to transfer "full sovereignty" to Iraqis, Bush says

US President George W. Bush said Friday that the US-led coalition forces will transfer "complete and full sovereignty" to Iraqis by June 30.

"I told the prime minister that our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty, to a Iraqi government that will be picked by Mr. (Lokhdar) Brahimi of the United Nations," Bush told reporters aftera meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen in the White House.

Bush said when Rasmussen pressed him whether the United States will transfer full sovereignty, he gave the Danish leader a definite answer.

Bush said he also told Rasmussen that the United States is working closely in the United Nations to get a new Security Council resolution and is making progress on that resolution.

Rasmussen, on his part, confirmed that the Danish troops currently deployed in Iraq will stay there, even after the handover of power on June 30.

"We will stay and finish our job," he said.

The Danish prime minister stressed that the coalition needs to transfer "full sovereignty" to an Iraqi government, which should be provided with all the signs and principles of a sovereign government.

"From June 30, international military presence in Iraq will be provided, at request, from this new Iraqi government. Our troops will stay in Iraq as long as the Iraqi government decides," he said.

Rasmussen said he and Bush also discussed the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US forces in Iraqi prisons, adding that necessary steps should be taken to make sure that such abuses will not happen in the future. Enditem

Source: Xinhua