5/11/2011
No secret deals with US on military presence in Iraq - Zebari
Baghdad, There are no secret deals with the United States concerning American military presence in Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday.
In a joint press conference with visiting Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi, Zebari said "US forces will withdraw from the country by yearend as stipulated in the security agreement with Iraq." "According to the agreement, military withdrawal had to be accomplished, whilst US diplomatic presence will certainly continue," he noted.
The status of forces agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the United States stipulates that all US forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.
Talks with Salehi dealt with bilateral relations, chiefly water-related issues and regulating religious visits for Iranian pilgrims to Iraq's holy places, the Iraqi top diplomat said.
"Some 1.2 million Iranians visited Iraqi holy shrines last year, while 600, 000 Iraqis visited Iran," he pointed out.
On his part, Salehi saw changes sweeping the Arab world as a "natural" matter, but believed its impacts might turn out "either positive or negative." He did not elaborate.
Salehi, who is in Iraq as part of a regional tour that had recently taken him to the UAE, Qatar and Oman, said his country is consulting with countries in the region in order to make sure these changes "turn positive." "We consented not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," Salehi said.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2166022&Language=en
