LONDON, May 2: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held talks Friday on postwar Iraq with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the top US ally in the war.

Rumsfeld, who arrived in London from Kabul, also met Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss the situation after the toppling of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by US-led forces last month.

Abdullah argued against the US-led invasion of neighbouring Iraq but provided low-key support once the war began.

Britain is Rumsfeld’s last stop on a week-long tour that has taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

With Saddam out of power, the United States says it is moving quickly to reduce its military presence in the Gulf and revive a long deadlocked Middle East peace process.—AFP