US President George W. Bush said this evening he will not hand over former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to the interim Iraqi government until adequate security is in place to ensure he does not escape trial.
Mr Bush would not commit to handing over Saddam by the June 30th transfer of power, as asserted by interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, but Mr Bush did not rule it out.
He said the US would not allow "lax security" to jeopardize plans for Saddam to be tried by a special tribunal.
"He is a killer. He is a thug. He needs to be brought to trial," Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
"We want to make sure that he (Saddam) doesn't come back to power. And so therefore, it's a legitimate question to ask of the interim government: 'How are you going to make sure he stays in jail?' And that's the question I'm asking. And when we get the right answer, which I'm confident we will - we'll work with them to do so - then we'll all be satisfied," Mr Bush said.
"I'm confident that when it is all said and done he will stay in jail. I just want to be assured," he added.
Mr Allawi said yesterday Saddam and other prisoners would be given to the new Iraqi government within two weeks to prepare for trial.