The United States and Iraq are close to a deal extending the presence of US troops beyond 2008, but any timetable for their withdrawal must be "feasible", US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today.
Ms Rice, who flew to Baghdad on an unannounced visit today, denied reports that the deal has already been reached and said she was hoping to iron out any remaining questions with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari also said the deal was "very close" and would include "time horizons" for US withdrawal.
"We'll have agreement when we have agreement. So all of those stories in the newspapers about what the agreement says probably ought to be disregarded until we have an agreement," Ms Rice told a news conference alongside Mr Zebari.
Anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr denounced the pact and said Washington was trying to twist Baghdad's arm to sign it.
The long-awaited pact will allow US forces to stay in Iraq beyond the end of this year, when a UN Security Council mandate enacted after the US-led invasion in 2003 expires.
Replacing the UN mandate with a formal US-Iraqi pact is seen as a milestone in Iraq's emergence as a sovereign state, giving Baghdad direct say over the presence of foreign troops on its soil for the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
But the deal's terms are politically sensitive in both countries. Mr Maliki is determined to show that the 144,000 US troops will not stay longer than needed, while US. President George W. Bush keen to avoid a firm schedule for them to leave.
Iraqi officials have said they would like to see US forces end routine patrols on Iraqi streets by the middle of next year and withdraw all combat troops by 2010 or 2011. But it is not clear how explicit such language would be in the agreement.
A commitment to withdraw combat troops in 2010 would resemble the plan offered by US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who wants them out by mid-2010.
The Bush administration and Republican candidate John McCain say troop reductions are likely but they do not want to commit to a firm timetable.
Reuters