US President George W Bush is due to arrive in the UK as he nears the end of what is expected to be his final tour of Europe before leaving office.

After meeting the Queen in Windsor, Mr Bush will have dinner with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

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Mr Bush tells the Observer newspaper the US and UK want to withdraw troops but this should be "based on success" and not a "definitive timetable".

No guarantees

His comments follow reports that a final pull-out of the UK's remaining 4,500 troops could be signalled by the end of the year.

The president said he is confident that, like him, Mr Brown will listen to the commanders "to make sure that the sacrifices that have gone forward won't be unravelled by draw-downs that may not be warranted".

But the Ministry of Defence has said no decision had been taken on troop withdrawals.

And a Downing Street spokeswoman said there was no disagreement with the US.

Any withdrawal of UK forces would depend on "conditions on the ground," she said.

"It is not our policy to set arbitrary timetables."

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge said the talks would also be likely to cover Iran and its nuclear ambitions as well as the global fuel and food crises.

He added that although Britain - like the rest of Europe - is already looking beyond President Bush to the next US administration, the allies still face six months of challenges together on many fronts.

Mr Bush's week-long trip also took him to Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France and the Vatican.

(BBC)

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