PARIS, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said on Monday that the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq ought to be discussed in an international conference on Iraq proposed by Washington, and the conference should take place within the framework of the United Nations.

    "It is an issue which should be on the agenda of such a conference, if we want it to take place," he told the France Interradio.

    Reiterating that Paris and Moscow had put forward a similar proposal in 2003, the foreign minister noted that what is important is "not to know if it will be held before or after elections" in Iraq scheduled for January, but "how to make it successful and useful."

    "The situation in Iraq is chaotic in terms of insecurity even in the Green Zone" in Baghdad, he said.

    "We have to get out of this black hole, this spiral of violence,and launch negotiations and the political process," the foreign minister said.

    He said the conference should include "different communities and countries of the region as well as all Iraqi political groups,including those that have chosen the path of armed resistance."

    Barnier also said that the conference should take place within the framework of the United Nations. "We are in a process set out by a UN resolution (Resolution 1546), and we must stick to it."

    US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday suggested the holding of an international conference on the situation in Iraq, hoping that it would take place in October, just before the US presidential election. Enditem