Denmark open to moving troops to Baghdad -minister

COPENHAGEN, Nov 19 (Reuters) Denmark is open to moving its 470 soldiers from southern Iraq to Baghdad if the United States requests it, the country's foreign minister has said.

''The Americans are in Baghdad, and we work together with the English,'' Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said yesterday in an interview broadcast on DR2 television.

''We will coordinate with the English in case there is a request (from the Americans), we cannot take a position now.'' Facing an upsurge in sectarian violence, US troops working with Iraqi security forces have s far failed to make much impression on the daily bloodshed in the capital.

Moller said he expected US plans for the deployment of foreign troops in Iraq to become clearer when a report being prepared by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group is released.

The group, co-chaired by former US Secretary of State James Baker, is charged with coming up with recommendations on how to bring peace to Iraq. It is expected to present its final report to President George W Bush and Congress next month.

A spokesman for the Danish Army said that for the moment the Danish contingent in Iraq, which is under British command, is moving ahead with previously announced plans to relocate to Basra airport in February.

''There are no plans for what to do after that,'' he said. ''It's up to the government to decide.'' Five Danish soldiers have died in action in Iraq since the start of the US-led occupation in 2003.

REUTERS DKS PM0438