Ukraine, with one of the largest contingents of troops in Iraq, said on Tuesday it would not pull its soldiers out of the troubled country, despite Spain's decision to do so and worries over their safety.
Spain's incoming leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said his country's troops should come home after a suspected al Qaeda attack in Madrid killed 200 people last week. His decision had spurred some Ukrainian politicians to call for a pull-out.
"I would not be telling the truth if I said I was happy that our Ukrainian lads are now in Iraq. I am very worried," Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich told parliamentary deputies.
Ukraine last year sent some 1,600 soldiers to form a part of multi-national force under the Polish command in central-southern Iraq.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Markiyan Lubkivsky said the government was satisfied with its troops' activities in Iraq and the issue of withdrawing the soldiers was not on the agenda.