Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi touches his head as he attends a meeting in Rome, March 16, 2005. Berlusconi was accused of bowing to pressure from the United States after he apparently backtracked on an announcement that Italian troops would start withdrawing from Iraq this September. (Reuters photo)

ROME, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Opposition parties and the press in Italy on Thursday accused Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of yielding to pressure from the United States and other allies on a plan to withdraw troops from Iraq.

    Berlusconi announced that he would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq in September in a television show Tuesday, but the next day he said he had never fixed a date for any pullout.

    Opposition parties said Berlusconi backtracked under the pressure of the US, as he just received a phone call from US President George Bush hours before the change of tone.

    "It's not possible that one evening you have a specific plan onthe withdrawal of the troops and that 24 hours later, you back-track because you've been called to order," opposition leader Romano Prodi said.

    The press said the prime minister had been forced to give in after Bush had told him to toe the coalition line on Iraq. The conservative Corriere dilla Sera said the US and British leaders had "put the brakes on" their Italian counterpart.

    But Berlusconi hit back Thursday, denying any U-turn and accused the press of misinterpreting his remarks.

    "What has happened in the newspapers is a case of intellectual dishonesty," he told reporters on a campaign tour in northern Italy. "This whole thing has been built on disinformation and scandal, a castle in the air which goes completely against the truth." Enditem