July 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would not set ``an artificial timetable'' for withdrawing British troops from Iraq, though progress toward a reduction is being made.

``It is certainly our intention that we reduce our troops, but I am not going to set out an artificial timetable,'' Brown told journalists in Baghdad today after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Britain, which had more than 40,000 troops in Iraq at the time of the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, is working to scale back its presence and hand over authority for security to local forces. The U.K. has about 4,000 soldiers in the country now, confined to an airbase in Basra where they support Iraqis.

Brown said there must be more progress toward provincial elections, the training of Iraqi security forces and the economic reconstruction of the country before any decision about British troop numbers can be taken.

``These are the building blocks for the future, and it's absolutely crucial we complete these tasks,'' Brown said. ``There is clear progress in these areas,'' he said.

Brown, on his third visit to Iraq since becoming prime minister a year ago, made his comments a day before presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrives in the Iraqi capital. Obama has said he would aim to withdraw all U.S. troops from the nation within 16 months of his inauguration, which would occur in January.

Provincial Elections

The U.S. has cut its presence to about 150,000 troops in Iraq from more than 160,000 at their peak late last year. The intensity of fighting has waned since March while the number of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq in May was 19, the lowest monthly total since the start of the war.

Brown said Maliki told him that he would ``push forward in the next few days'' to secure provincial elections.

Michael Ellam, Brown's spokesman, told reporters travelling with the prime minister that provincial elections -- once planned for Oct. 1 -- now will slip to the end of 2008 or early 2009 because the legislation enabling them to occur hasn't yet been passed by Iraq's parliament.

Violence in Iraq has prevented the nation from boosting oil exports near the level Saddam Hussein's government had before the first Gulf War in 1991. Until then, the nation was pumping as much as 3.2 million barrels a day to world markets. Output rose to 2.4 million barrels a day in June from 1.5 million barrels a day in January 2006, according to Bloomberg estimates.

`Great Deal of Oil'

``A great deal of oil is being produced, and there is scope for a great deal more,'' Brown said today in Baghdad.

In April, the British government shelved plans to reduce the force from its current level after violence flared in the southern city of Basra. At the same time, Britain is shifting its focus to fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan where it has 7,800 troops. The U.S. has about 36,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.

Brown must balance the needs of an overstretched military and an unpopular war in Iraq with the U.S. desire to have a significant foreign ally in the nation.

``Given the parameters that Brown is working in, the twin pressures of keeping onside with the Americans and also with public opinion at home, he is doing quite well,'' Michael Dumper, a professor of Middle East politics at the University of Exeter said in an interview. Dumper said Brown should ``accelerate the handover of power to the Iraqi authorities, as it may not be long before the British troops become the focus of attacks again.''

Domestic Pressure

Brown is facing domestic pressure to cut short Britain's presence in Iraq, partly because of the death toll in the conflict. As of March, a total of 176 Britons have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.

Haleh Afshar, a professor of politics at York University and an independent lawmaker in Britain's House of Lords, said Britain should withdraw from Iraq and leave the region to establish peace, partly because the war is a financial drain on the countries involved.

``Leaving the Middle East to sort out their own problems would be the best solution, and one that is becoming more likely because of the economic situation,'' Afshar said in an interview.

After his meetings in Baghdad, Brown visited U.K. troops in Basra.

``The whole of the British people want to thank you for what you are doing here,'' Brown told a gathering of soldiers. ``I don't think we thank you enough for all you do.''

Brown is scheduled to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and on the West Bank tomorrow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in Baghdad at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 19, 2008 10:03 EDT