LONDON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- It is "entirely reasonable" to talk about British troops leaving Iraq by the end of next year, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday.
However, withdrawal remains conditional upon Iraqi forces being able to take over control of security, he emphasized.
Speaking after talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at Downing Street, Blair said: "It is entirely reasonable to talk about the possibility of withdrawal of troops next year, but it's got to be conditioned by the fact that we withdraw when the job is done.
"And the job is, when the Iraqi security services are capable of dealing with the security problems they have, now the Iraqi capability is growing the whole time."
Blair pledged Britain would not leave a security vacuum in the country. However, if the political process progressed as hoped, particularly after December's nationwide elections, the security situation would improve, he predicted.
Defense Secretary John Reid said the process of troop withdrawal "could start within the next 12 months.
"We are not saying there would be immediate withdrawal. We are not saying that there is an immutable timetable, irrespective of conditions on the ground," he told BBC Radio.
"We are not saying that everyone will be out by the end of 2006.
"We are saying that this process, despite the terrorist attempts to destroy it, is going relatively well, and, in the course of the next year, we could well see the handover to Iraqi forces at certain places in Iraq, including in our own area."
Talabani told ITV that Iraqis did not want foreign troops to remain indefinitely, and called for a gradual pullout with close coordination between coalition forces and Iraqi authorities.
"Within one year ... Iraqi troops will be ready to replace British forces in the south," he added.
Liberal Democrats' Defense Spokesman Michael Moore, said Talabani's comments should "focus attention on the need for a clearly stated exit strategy from Iraq.
"The coalition must internationalize the support for the Iraqi authorities as part of a strategy which sets out the appropriate milestones for security, public services and the full transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people."
