TO BITING criticism from the Italian Opposition and the press, Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, backtracked yesterday over his announcement that Italian troops would start withdrawing from Iraq in September, claiming that this had only ever been a “hope” rather than a commitment.

On Tuesday night Signor Berlusconi had caused consternation in London and Washington by declaring on state television that Italy would begin a “progressive withdrawal” of its 3,000-strong contingent from Iraq starting in September, provided local security conditions allowed this.

He said that he had discussed an “exit strategy” with Tony Blair and was responding to public opinion.

Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family, carried a front-page headline the next day reading “Troops to start pulling back in September” and described the move as “a turning point”.

Yesterday, however, Italian newspapers carried a “clarification” from Signor Berlusconi’s office stating that after a “long and cordial” conversation with President Bush the Italian leader wished to make it clear that there was “no fixed date” for withdrawal, which could only take place “in consultation with our allies”.

Signor Berlusconi said that the media had misinterpreted his words and built “castles in the air”.

La Repubblica retaliated with a front-page cartoon showing the Prime Minister declaring: “I never said what I said, and if I did say it, I misrepresented myself.”

The cartoon in Corriere della Sera had Signor Berlusconi dictating a statement reading: “I have agreed with Bush on an immediate withdrawal — that is, the immediate withdrawal of what I said on television.”

Signor Berlusconi insisted that he had not “corrected myself in anything” and rejected calls from the centre-left Opposition to go before parliament to clarify his position.

The Left had earlier lambasted him for making his remarks about troop withdrawals on a chat show rather than to Parliament. “What should I tell Parliament?” he was quoted as saying by Ansa, the Italian news agency. “Non-news?”.

The Left said that Signor Berlusconi had made his announcement for a domestic audience with an eye on key regional elections next month, seen as a dress rehearsal for the general election due next year, and had not taken into account its impact on Italy’s allies.

Gianfranco Fini, the Foreign Minister, who was accompanying President Ciampi on a state visit to Britain at the time of the announcement, is reported to have learnt about it from news agencies.

“In a serious country, heads of government cannot allow themselves ambiguous announcements on issues that touch on the life and death of many human beings,” Corriere della Sera said.

• Bulgaria will reduce its troops in Iraq by around a quarter in June and will soon take a decision on a complete withdrawal this year, Nikolai Svinarov, the Defence Minister, said yesterday.

  The Balkan state, a staunch ally in the US-led operations, has a 450-strong light infantry battalion operating under Polish command in the south central town of Diwaniyah.

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