French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin on Sunday called on the United States to withdraw its troops from Iraq within "months."

"We consider that it is a matter of months. We have been thinking that within six to nine months, the transfer of sovereignty should be completed," he told French radio station Europe 1.

The foreign minister said that the United States might be able to get a new resolution on Iraq through the UN Security Council, but stressed that it should help improve conditions in the country.

"If this resolution is just the umpteenth one, which does not change the reality on the ground, it will be passed but it will not improve things," he said.

De Villepin ruled out using France's veto to kill the US resolution, which was expected to be tabled within two days. But he declined to say if his country would support the resolution or abstain from voting.

"We shall have to see the draft. We shall have to see if the draft takes into account France's aspirations, as well as those of a great many countries," he said.

What France wants to see is a resolution that will "enable the international community to rebuild Iraq," he added.

The foreign minister stressed that Germany and Russia share a similar approach with France on the matter of Iraq.

France and Germany are also ready to help Iraq train its military and police forces, he said.

Turning to the Mideast, De Villepin called for an international conference on the Middle East to help restart the stalled peace process, and suggested sending an international buffer force to the region.

"We must restart the roadmap. When things get difficult, one must change pace and move into higher gear. We need shock therapy there," the foreign minister said.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2003)