NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritania's new prime minister said he wanted democratic elections as soon as possible after last week's coup and vowed the Islamic Republic would remain a U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.
A military junta seized power on August 3 in Mauritania, which straddles black and Arab Africa and is due to start pumping oil next year. The coup ended 21 years of rule by authoritarian leader Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.
The 17-member military council, which includes some of Taya's closest aides, has promised a referendum on changes to the constitution in a year, followed by legislative and presidential elections within two.
"If we manage to get this work done before the 24 months is up we will do so," said Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar, a civilian prime minister appointed by the junta on Sunday.
"We are simply a transitional government charged with paving the way back to democracy. It will be up to the elected government to then take decisions on the big issues," he told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday.
The bloodless coup drew wide support among Mauritanians tired of what they say was a police state under Taya.
The international community initially condemned the putsch and demanded that Taya be restored to power, but has since softened its stance, and Western diplomats say they are prepared to give the new rulers the benefit of the doubt.
The United States in particular has said it will work with the military council if it shows it can keep its promise to organise transparent polls.
Washington sees Mauritania as a key ally in West Africa and this year sent military experts to train its troops to tackle Islamic militants it fears may be operating in the Sahara desert.
"Our relations with the United States are very important and we are confident about them," Ould Boubacar said, sat in his office in front of a huge Mauritanian flag.
"Mauritania reiterates very clearly its wish to honour its international engagements, including the role it plays in the fight against terrorism," he said.
ISLAMISTS FREED
One of the military council's first acts after seizing power was to release around 20 Islamist activists whom Taya had jailed for their alleged links to a group allied to al Qaeda.
The detainees had been accused of colluding with the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat but many Mauritanian Arabs say Taya overstated the Islamist threat to justify a crackdown on opponents and win U.S. backing.
Ould Boubacar said the new government would not interfere in legal cases already underway but said other Islamists jailed by Taya would be released if there was no evidence against them.
Taya, initially an ally of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, angered many Arabs in his country by making Mauritania one of only three Arab League states with full diplomatic ties to Israel.
Opposition politicians have urged the coup leaders to cut all links with the Jewish state, saying to do so would be a clear sign of a break with the politics of Taya's regime.
When asked about Israel, Ould Babacar said Mauritania's foreign policy would be one of continuity and noted that the coup leaders had met with all foreign ambassadors in Nouakchott, including Israel's.
On the domestic front, Ould Babacar said the priority for his new cabinet, appointed this week, would be to reach agreement with opposition parties on changes to the constitution which would allow a president to run for only two terms.
It would also consider whether to cut the presidential term to four or five years from a current six.
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