Romanian PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu said on Tuesday he would do the best he constitutionally can to withdraw Romanian troops from Iraq by Christmas. He said Romanian soldiers have accomplished the mission for which they were deployed in Iraq.
“The time has come to bring our troops, women and men, back home… That’s why I’ll do whatever I can, according to the Constitution and the law, so that by Christmas the Romanian military contingent in Iraq return home, along the lines of a schedule to be established with our allies and our partners”, Tariceanu said.
Romania currently holds some 600 troops in Iraq. PM Tariceanu’s call for their withdrawal last summer led to a political dispute with the president that resulted in the resignation of the then Defense minister.
Representatives of the Democratic Party, which form the governing alliance with Tariceanu's Liberals, said today that they would make an official stand in this regard next week.
