London, Apr 16: There is "no question" of the
US-led coalition in Iraq turning its back on the Iraqi people,
British foreign secretary Jack Straw said today after talks in London with his Polish counterpart.
"There is no question of turning our backs on the
Iraqi people" despite the upsurge in fighting and
hostage-taking in the past week or so, said Straw alongside
Poland's Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.
"We cannot let those groups trying to prevent the
establishment of democracy and a representative government
(in Iraq) from succeeding," he told reporters at the foreign
office.
"We remain committed to realizing the hopes held by
the vast majority of Iraqis for a new Iraq where people of all
faiths, political beliefs and ethnic backgrounds can live
together in peace and freedom," he said.
Straw and Cimoszewicz met in London a day before
British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives in Washington to
discuss Iraq and the Middle East with US President George W.
Bush.
British troops occupy oil-rich southern Iraq, while
Poland has 2,500 soldiers heading a multinational coalition
force that has clashed with insurgents in several cities.
Bureau Report
