White House affirms coalition support in Iraq, Abdullah postpones meeting with Bush

COALITION STRONG AND RESOLVE FIRM SAYS WHITE HOUSE

"The coalition in Iraq is strong, and we appreciate the numerous recent statements from countries participating in the security for the Iraqi people," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters April 20.

"There are more than 30 nations who are participating in our efforts in Iraq, and we appreciate the strong statements reaffirming their commitment to helping the Iraqi people realize a free and peaceful future," McClellan said.

When asked about Honduras's recent decision to also withdraw their forces in Iraq along with Spain McClellan said, "Honduras was working with some of the Spanish troops in Iraq."

According to news reports, Honduran President Ricardo Maduro announced the coming pullout of Honduran troops from Iraq on April 19.

Press Secretary McClellan responded to a question about the administration's reaction to a recent statement by European Commission President Romano Prodi supporting Spain's decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq, saying that "Italy, Poland and Japan and others have said otherwise; they recognize that this is about helping the Iraqi people realize a brighter future and we're all working toward a shared goal, which is a free and peaceful Iraq."

According to news reports, Prodi on April 19 praised Spain's newly elected President of the Government Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapaterro's decision to withdraw troops from Iraq, and he suggested that other nations were likely to follow.

"Look at the strong statements of support from the coalition. The coalition in Iraq is strong and their resolve is firm," McClellan said.

The White House press secretary supported recent efforts by the U.N. envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, to work towards a new U.N. Security Council resolution for Iraq, saying that "We already believe that countries have the ability to participate under existing resolutions, but we welcome another resolution that would encourage more countries to participate because this is about helping the Iraqi people realize their aspirations and hopes.

"The United Nations is playing a vital role in helping the Iraqi people move forward on the transfer of sovereignty; there's a U.N. mission there helping to move forward on the elections that are scheduled to be held, beginning in January of 2005," McClellan said.

KING ABDULLAH POSTPONES MEETING WITH BUSH

"We understand that there are some domestic issues involved here. And we respect King Abdullah II 's decision to postpone the meeting for a couple weeks, and the President looks forward to meeting with him the first week of May," the White House spokesman said of King Abdullah's decision to postpone his April 21 meeting with President Bush.

According to news reports, King Abdullah announced April 20 that he wanted to postpone his Oval Office meeting with President Bush until May.

When questioned by reporters about whether President Bush's recent backing of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw settlements and troops from Gaza had any impact on Abdullah's decision McClellan said, " we continue to discuss the president's views with Jordanian officials and other Arab nations.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)