BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said here on Wednesday that the coalition in Iraq remains intact though Britain decided to withdraw troops.

    "Britain has done its part, that is, transfer the security task to the Iraqis," she told reporters at a joint news briefing after meeting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

    "The coalition remains intact," said Rice, who came to attend the Quartet meeting on the Middle East.

    Earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a plan to cut the number of British troops in Iraq to 5,500 from 7,100 in the next few months.

    In a speech to the House of Commons, Blair said that the situation in the Iraqi city of Basra where British troops are based is very different from the one in Baghdad, and Basra could now be secured by Iraqis themselves.

    Blair's announcement comes just weeks before the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war on March 19, 2003 when American and British troops invaded Iraq.

    Blair made the decision to cut troops while Washington is sending 21,000 more troops to Iraq.