Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie said yesterday that his
country will reject any security pact with the United States unless a specific
date for withdrawal of US-led troops is set, according to reports from the holy
city of Najaf.
"Our stance in the negotiations with the Americans will be strong. We will
not sign any memorandum of understanding without specifying a date for the
withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq," Rubaie told reporters in Najaf.
Rubaie's comments came after his meeting with Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, during which Rubaie briefed him on the progress of his
government's security efforts and the ongoing talks over the security agreement
with the United States.
Rubaie's new strong remarks also came a day after Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki said that his country was seeking a timetable for the withdrawal of US
troops as part of its negotiations with the United States on the status of US
forces in Iraq beyond 2008.
"The current trend is to reach either a memorandum of understanding for the
departure of the troops, or a memorandum of understanding for setting a
timetable for its withdrawal," Maliki said during a meeting with a group of Arab
ambassadors in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, a day before
ending his visit to the Gulf country.
However, the United States immediately rebuffed Maliki's comments, saying
that its talks with Iraq on future US-Iraq relations will not include a date for
the US troops to withdraw from the Middle East country.
"It is important to understand that these are not talks on a hard date for a
withdrawal," White House spokesman Scot Stanzel said.
"As (US) Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker has said, we are looking at conditions,
and not calendars -- and both sides are in agreement on this point," Stanzel
added.
Baghdad and Washington are currently holding talks aimed at reaching a deal
on a continued US military presence in Iraq after a UN mandate expires in
December.
US President George W. Bush and Maliki agreed on a declaration of principles
last November to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July
that would decide the future presence of US troops in Iraq and long-term
bilateral economic, political and security relations.
Last week, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that the United States
had shown flexibility in negotiations with Iraq on the security pact.
However, Zebari warned that if his country fails to sign a strategic
framework agreement with the United States, it will be obliged to demand an
extension for the UN mandate until the country builds its own security forces.