The new Italian government will hold a meeting next week to work out a withdrawal plan for Italy's troops from Iraq, Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said on Saturday.
Mr D'Alema, who is also a deputy prime minister, told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Naples that the meeting would likely be held on Wednesday.
The centre-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has said it wanted to bring home Italy's remaining 2,600 troops from Iraq but has not yet given its own timeframe.
According to a plan already put in place by the previous government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, 1,000 more troops are due to return by the end of June and the rest by the end of the year.
Some government officials have said the new administration could decide to speed up the withdrawal but Mr Prodi has promised to do so in coordination with the Iraqi government and the other foreign forces in Iraq.
Mr D'Alema said the new government planned to convert Italy's presence in Iraq to one that would be totally civilian in nature and that would continue to help people there.
"We are not running away but we want to convert our commitment into a civilian presence in the best tradition of Italy," he said.
Mr Prodi told the Senate earlier this week that the new government felt the US-led invasion of Iraq was a "grave mistake" and that his government wanted any part in what he called an "occupation".