Iraq claims agreement with US at 'dead end'

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-14  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

IRAQ'S Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday that the talks with the United States on a long-term security agreement between the two nations have reached a "dead end."

Al-Maliki said the talks slumped because each side refused the other's demands.

The initial framework agreed upon was to have been an accord "between two completely sovereign states," al-Maliki said. But he added, the US proposals "do not take into consideration Iraq's sovereignty."

The prime minister, who spoke to reporters during a visit to neighboring Jordan, said, referring to the American demands, that "this is not acceptable."

The US demands "violate Iraqi sovereignty. At the end, we reached a dead end."

Washington and Baghdad have been negotiating behind closed doors a deal that would give US troops legal grounds for an extended stay in Iraq after a UN mandate expires on December 31.

The talks are also meant to fine-tune a separate accord on political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries. But al-Maliki's remarks were the most outspoken criticism yet from the Iraqi side, reflecting deep misgivings about the deal, which has also been denounced by Tehran.

Officials traveling with al-Maliki tried to soften the impact of his remarks.

A senior al-Maliki adviser, Yassin Majid, told The Associated Press in Amman that despite the "impasse," negotiations were "still continuing" in a bid to overcome the deadlock.

What was rejected was the "preliminary draft" presented by both sides, Majid said, "but there are alternative ideas that will be presented to the negotiating table at an upcoming meeting."

He declined to say when the meeting was to take place, but other Iraqi officials accompanying the prime minister said the impasse came about "because the ceiling of American requests were extremely high."

The officials, said the main point of contention was the issue of the continued US troop presence in Iraq.

US officials have refused to release details of the talks while they are still under way but have expressed their respect for Iraqi sovereignty.