LONDON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett revealed Wednesday that her nation may turn over control of the Iraqi city of Basra to local authorities soon.
Speaking at the first complete House of Commons debate on the situation in Iraq since 2004, Beckett said that by spring British forces could be withdrawn from Basra as a first-step maneuver, the Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported.
"We remain confident that at some point this spring we will be able to recommend that Basra province too is ready for this process of transition," she said. "We have told the House (of Commons) over and over again we are not setting, never have set and never will set, because we think it would be dangerous and irresponsible, a specific date, a specific deadline or specific timeline."
Following the exchange of power in Basra, Beckett said that Britain could then potentially hand over control in all 18 Iraqi provinces to area officials by November.
KUNA said Beckett recognized that what occurs in the future in Iraq could directly affect the entire Middle East, an area she deemed "critical to our deeper goal of building a safe, just and prosperous world for all."
