International troops _ including hundreds of Bulgarians _ will have to stay in Iraq for at least another year, given the volatile situation, the defense minister said Tuesday after talks with senior U.S. officials. Visiting Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the U.S. Army's chief of staff, said after talks with Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov that he was "optimistic" about the future of Iraq, but refused to speculate on when the multinational coalition would complete its mission and leave the country. "No one could predict that _ we have to see the outcome of the elections in January and the evolution of the sovereign government of Iraq," he told reporters after the visit. "But we, as a nation and as a coalition, are committed to see this through." Svinarov assured U.S. officials "Bulgaria will not pull out from Iraq _ at least not before the other members of the multinational coalition."
