Tony Blair has signalled that the US and Britain will begin handing over control of large parts of Iraq to the country's security forces after Sunday's national elections, seeking to underscore the legitimacy of the newly-elected government.
As Iraqis prepare to vote in a poll dogged by the insurgency, Mr Blair ruled out setting a firm deadline for the US and UK to withdraw from the country.
But in a Financial Times interview the prime minister said the coalition was set to agree "timelines" with the new government that would indicate the pace at which Iraqi forces could take control of peaceful parts of the country.
"There are areas where we would be able to hand over to those Iraqi forces. Remember, 14 out of the 18 provinces in Iraq are relatively peaceful and stable."
Mr Blair indicated that as this handover developed it would become clearer when the coalition could leave altogether. "Both ourselves and the Iraqis want us to leave as soon as possible. The question is what is 'As soon as possible?' And the answer to that is: when the Iraqi forces have the capability to do the job."
The prime minister's main focus in the interview was to set out his intention to use Britain's presidency of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations to build "an agenda of consensus" between the US, Europe and the rest of the world.
He argued that it was possible to build such a consensus because, following President George W. Bush's re-election, US foreign policy was undergoing an "evolution . . . that has been underestimated by people".
A sign of that, Mr Blair argued, was US policy on climate change, which will be at the heart of the prime minister's address to the World Economic Forum in Davos tonight. He said the US "does want to get back into a dialogue" on climate change, arguing that "the administration . . . [has] long since moved from the position that there is not an issue here".
Mr Blair said Britain would use the G8 to set "a clear direction for global policy in the future". He said business leaders, especially in the energy sector, "want certainty as to where the direction of the world lies" on climate change and that the G8 must start giving that.
The prime minister said US policy was evolving in other ways. On the Middle East peace process he said "you will find in the next few weeks that there will again be a very clear direction set out by America".
He sought to play down fears that the US was contemplating aggression against Iran. Asked whether it might only be possible to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon by resorting to force, Mr Blair said "Yes".
Blair hails US goal of expanding freedom
But he insisted that the idea that the US was planning to invade countries around the world amounted to "wild fantasies". He added: "If Iran changes its attitudes in relation to things that concern us, then obviously people are prepared to look at things in a different way."
Mr Bush alarmed some governments in his inauguration address by suggesting his administration had the goal of "ending tyranny" around the world. Mr Blair said this was a "perfectly progressive" goal, in tune with the values of centre-left governments and vital for the west's long-term security.
"They know . . . you can't just go round invading every country that you think should be a democracy. What you can however do is to say that you are going to encourage people to become more democratic."
