Turkey's Erdogan says US should set Iraq timetable

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) Iraq is in a state of civil war and the United States should set a timetable to withdraw its forces, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

''The number of people who have died in sectarian violence exceeds, according to some figures, 650,000 ... when you have that many people who have died as a result of a conflict that is taking place, that could only be explained as a civil war,'' Erdogan said yesterday on the PBS program ''NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.'' While US President George W Bush is exploring options for containing the sectarian violence, including a short-term increase in troop levels, Erdogan said it was time for the United States to plan a phased reduction of its military presence in Iraq.

''I would think that a road map should be explained and announced. And I think that the number of troops must be slowly diminished,'' Erdogan said through a translator.

''I do not see any benefit to increasing the number of troops.

Whatever happens with drawing down the troops, this must be done within the basis of a plan, and that must be explained to the Iraqi people. So respect for America amongst the Iraqi people will be restored.'' Erdogan said Iraq's neighbors have a huge stake in preventing the civil war from spreading and that they wanted to work with the United States to ensure that does not happen.

''Iran, Turkey, Syria, US, these countries could have bilateral or trilateral meetings. And in addition to that, there should also be an international consensus that includes all the neighboruing countries at the US and the UN Security Council,'' Erdogan said.

''We are very concerned and sensitive about what happens in Iraq,'' he said. ''And when I say this, it also includes regional countries like Iran and Syria, because the fire is raging in our region and we are very close.'' REUTERS PB PM0943