The White House is downplaying a statement by Iraq's prime minister that his country wants some type of timetable for a withdrawal of American troops.

It's the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and publicly called for a withdrawal timetable, an idea opposed by President Bush.

Iraq's national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie said the timetable would be conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security. But the White House said it doesn't believe al-Maliki was proposing a rigid timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals.

In Japan where President Bush is attending the G-Eight summit, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said al-Maliki has said previously that Iraq doesn't want a precipitous withdrawal "because of the security consequences."