( Reuters ) - President George W. Bush said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown should only withdraw forces from Iraq based on conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary timetable.
Bush issued the advice in a newspaper interview published on Sunday ahead of his visit to Britain, the final stop of a European farewell tour on which he has won support for increasing pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.
He told Britain's Observer, the United States and Britain, Washington's main ally on Iraq, obviously wanted to bring their troops home but that could be done only "based upon success."
"Our answer is: there should be no definitive timetable," said Bush, adding he was "appreciative" that Brown was in frequent touch about "what he and his military are thinking."
The newspaper described Bush as issuing a warning to Brown, but the White House dismissed that tone, saying there was no disagreement between the United States and Britain on Iraq.
It later released a transcript of the interview as clarification and said Iran was likely to figure more prominently in talks.
Both agreed any troop reductions would be based on "progress on the ground, on the advice of our military and not according to any arbitrary schedule," Bush national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"There is no disagreement between us and Prime Minister Brown on this issue," he said.
Only about 4,200 British troops remain in Iraq, most of them stationed at a base in the south. Britain has indicated it could pull them all out by the end of 2008, but with the situation still unstable in Iraq, that appears difficult.