US troops should be out of Iraq within months: France

"We think the timescale should be short," said de Villepin.

"We consider that it is a question of months. We have been thinking that within six to eight months, the transfer of sovereignty should be complete," he told a French radio station.

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De Villepin also called for an enlargement of the present governing structures set in place by the US-Britain coalition.

The governing council and the transitional government in Iraq were the basis for action but "their numbers should be enlarged, and that is where the UN (United Nations) plays a central role, in trying to define the legitimacy" of future authorities, he said.

"As far as we are concerned the Iraqis are the trustees of security," he said.

On Friday the United States pressed ahead with plans to set a six-month deadline for the interim Iraqi government to draft and ratify a constitution, a move seen as a nod to anti-war members of the UN Security Council like France.

Meanwhile, the European Union called yesterday for Iraqis to regain sovereignty from the US-led coalition within a "realistic schedule".

At a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers including a British representative "underlined the importance of the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty and the establishment of a fully representative Iraqi government through democratic elections".

In a statement, the ministers said they "acknowledged the necessity to reach agreement on a realistic schedule for handing over political responsibility to the Iraqi people".

The United States is set Tuesday to present a new resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for wider international involvement in Iraq, following the ouster of Saddam Hussein by US-British forces.

EU member France, which fiercely opposed the war against Sadddam, said Sunday it wanted sovereignty to be handed over to the Iraqi people within "six to eight months".

"We think the timescale should be short," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.

But British Europe Minister Denis MacShane, standing in for Foreign Secretary Jack Straw at the EU meeting, said restoring security in Iraq was the more pressing priority.