Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero presided over the official dissolution of Spain's Plus Ultra brigade on Thursday after the last combat troops were removed from Iraq, in line with the new Socialist government's pledge.
At an informal gathering later, Zapatero thanked the troops and awarded medals to 21 soldiers, telling them of "the deep bond" between him, the government, the Spanish people and the military.
"Today, and in line with the orders you have given, the Plus Ultra II brigade has been disbanded and no new troops will be sent to Iraq," Defence Minister Jose Bono told the prime minister at the official ceremony in the presence of top military brass.
"Before 30 days are over all Spanish soldiers (still in Iraq) will be coming home, God willing; thus your order will have been fulfilled, which is binding for the good of Spain and for peace," he added.
After the return of Spain's 1,300-men contribution to the international Plus Ultra brigade which was wound up Wednesday, only about 1,000 Spanish troops, sent to organise the pull-out, remain in Iraq's south-central town of Diwaniyah.
They will leave Iraq by May 27, Zapatero told parliament on Tuesday.
The troops had been sent to Iraq in mid-2003 by Zapatero's conservative predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar.
Zapatero later flew to Paris for talks with French President Jacques Chirac, who expressed doubts about US hopes of getting the United Nations to endorse the handover of sovereignty to an interim government in Iraq on June 30.
Chirac told a news conference on Thursday that he was sure that "Europe will approve the propositions of the UN special envoy (Lakhdar) Brahimi" on the formation of an interim government in Iraq.
But, he said he was less certain that these ideas could be "translated into an international decision that is sufficiently clear and firm that it can be adopted by the Security Council and serve as a basis for political, economic and social reconstruction in Iraq.
Chirac said that it would "disastrous" to pass a watered-down text, which gave a figurehead role to the UN while "in reality things do not change and the coalition continues to assure the reality of power."
Zapatero, who came to power after a surprise general election win on March 14, at first said he would pull Spanish troops out of Iraq by June 30 unless they came under UN command by then.
But the day he took office, he accelerated the timetable, saying he saw no prospect of reaching agreement on the matter with the United States.
Zapatero's meeting with Chirac came a day after he met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin and was expected to focus on EU questions and to improving ties between France and Spain strained by the war in Iraq.
Chirac and Schroeder led international opposition to the US-led war to oust Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
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