Italian center-left leader Romano Prodi confirmed on Wednesday that his coalition intended to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq by the end of 2006, local media reported.

In an article in French daily Le Monde, Prodi said, "We will withdraw our troops from Iraq in agreement with the Baghdad government and we will send a civilian contingent to help with the reconstruction."

The center-left leader also said that he would be more pro-Brussels and less pro-Washington than Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Pressed to say exactly when the troops would come home, Prodi later told Italian television that the Berlusconi government had already said soldiers would be pulled out by the end of 2006.

"We will respect that deadline," he said.

Italy's Interior Ministry has announced that Prodi's coalition won a slim majority in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, while Berlusconi disputed the results.

Source: Xinhua