MADRID, April 19: Spanish troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in less than eight weeks and maybe even under six weeks, Defence Minister Jose Bono said on Monday. Asked at a news conference whether six to eight weeks was a realistic timeframe, Mr Bono said: "It will be less."

He declined to give any dates for the troop withdrawal for security reasons, but said it would be "very soon". In a telephonic conversation with the new Spanish prime minister, US President George Bush said he regretted the move.

In a diplomatically worded but unmistakable rebuke, Mr Bush "stressed the importance of carefully considering future actions to avoid giving false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq", according to White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero telephoned Mr Bush to discuss his Sunday announcement that Spain's forces would depart Iraq over the next 50 days - the first major defection from the US-led occupying forces.

In the five-minute call, Mr Bush "expressed his regret to ... Zapatero about the decision to abruptly announce the pullout of Spanish troops from Iraq", said Mr McClellan. "The president urged that the Spanish withdrawal take place in a coordinated manner that does not put at risk other coalition forces in Iraq," Mr McClellan told reporters.

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher echoed Mr McClellan's comments, but said Washington did not believe the Spanish decision sent "any significant message" to other members of the contingent. He stressed that many other countries had reaffirmed their commitment to the operation.

Mr Zapatero is due to explain his decision to Spain's parliament on Tuesday and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos is expected to discuss the matter in talks on Wednesday in Washington with Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. -Reuters/AFP