05 June 2004	Saturday	16 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

UNITED NATIONS, June 4: The new foreign minister of Iraq on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to adopt the resolution underlining the transfer of sovereignty back to the country's people and their representatives but also cautioned against immediate withdrawal of foreign troops.

In an address to the Council meeting to consider the US-British sponsored resolution on Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari welcomed the draft and stressed that the new text must mark a clear departure from previous Council resolutions that legitimized the occupation of Iraq, he said.

"By removing the label of occupation we will deprive the terrorists and anti-democratic forces of a rallying point to foment violence in our country," he said. "We have not completed the military and security operations to the extent that we can say good-bye to those multinational forces," he said. "We say it without any sense of hesitation or shame."