| The bulk of the Italian contingent will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of autumn. This was stated yesterday during a visit to Baghdad by the new Italian Foreign Minister Massimo d'Alema. Italian forces are stationed in the area of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. The head of the Italian Foreign Ministry emphasized: “We received a mandate from our voters. By the end of the year, the Italian military presence in Iraq will end." Mr D'Alema's statement comes as tensions in Iraq escalate. The fate of four Russian diplomats kidnapped on June 3 in Baghdad remains unclear. The Vremya Novostey newspaper received a letter from the Iraqi Embassy in Russia, in which it “strongly condemns this criminal act aimed at harming Iraq’s relations with its friends” and expresses confidence that such actions “are unable to affect the historically strong relations between Iraq and Russia." Petr ISKENDEROV | |
