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Iraq 'deal' on 2011 troop pullout Iraq 'deal' on 2011 troop pullout
(about 1 hour later)
The Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has said agreement has been reached with the US to end the foreign troop presence in the country by 2011.The Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has said agreement has been reached with the US to end the foreign troop presence in the country by 2011.
He told tribal leaders in Baghdad the two parties had agreed on a "fixed date, which is the end of 2011". Mr Maliki had told tribal leaders in Baghdad the two parties had agreed on a "fixed date, which is the end of 2011".
The deal, which has been in negotiation for 10 months, still needs to be approved by the Iraqi Presidential Council and by the parliament. But a US state department spokesman has said there was no final deal and only a draft text had been agreed. He did not comment on the 2011 date.
There are currently around 147,000 US troops in Iraq. Any agreement will have to be approved by the Iraqi parliament and presidency.
Mr Maliki told the meeting in Baghdad no agreement would be signed that did not respect Iraqi sovereignty, Reuters reports.
"An open time limit is not acceptable in any security deal that governs the presence of the international forces," he said.
He also said no foreigners would be given full legal immunity. The US has been trying to include immunity from prosecution in the Iraqi courts for its soldiers as part of the deal.
"We will not accept to put the lives of our sons on the line by guaranteeing absolute immunity for anybody, whether Iraqis or foreigners," Mr Maliki said. "The sanctity of Iraqi blood should be respected."
Deal awaits
US state department spokesman Robert Wood told Reuters the negotiators had only agreed on a draft agreement.
"It still has to go through a number of levers in the Iraqi political system before we actually have an agreement from the Iraqi side," he said. He added that US President George W Bush would also have to sign it off.
"Until we have a deal, we don't have a deal," he said.
On Friday, a senior Iraqi official said the draft security agreement included the withdrawal of US forces from all Iraqi urban areas by June 2009.On Friday, a senior Iraqi official said the draft security agreement included the withdrawal of US forces from all Iraqi urban areas by June 2009.
The 27-point agreement reportedly includes a compromise allowing US soldiers some immunity under Iraqi law.The 27-point agreement reportedly includes a compromise allowing US soldiers some immunity under Iraqi law.
It is thought some US troops could remain beyond 2011 to train Iraqi security forces. There are currently around 147,000 US troops in Iraq. It is thought some US troops could remain beyond 2011 to train Iraqi security forces.
The BBC's Crispin Thorold in Baghdad says the 2011 date has been discussed as "aspirational" by the Bush administration in past, but Mr Maliki's comments are the strongest indication of the Iraqi wish to have all US troops out of the country by then.The BBC's Crispin Thorold in Baghdad says the 2011 date has been discussed as "aspirational" by the Bush administration in past, but Mr Maliki's comments are the strongest indication of the Iraqi wish to have all US troops out of the country by then.
There has been no confirmation of Mr Maliki's comments from the White House or from Iraqi diplomats in Iraq.