White House says no "hard date" for withdrawal in Iraq talks
The White House has said that it is not negotiating a "hard date" for a US withdrawal from Iraq despite PM Nuri al-Maliki's call for a timetable for the departure of US troops.
By Agencies |
WASHINGTON: The White House has said that it is not negotiating a "hard date" for a US withdrawal from Iraq despite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's call for a timetable for the departure of US troops.
Maliki said for the first time on Monday that Iraq was seeking such a timetable as part of its negotiations with Washington on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008.
But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the talks were aimed at reaching agreement on a framework for future US-Iraqi relations and on the arrangements that will govern the US military presence.
"It is important to understand that these are not talks on a hard date for a withdrawal," he said.
"As Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker has said, we are looking at conditions, and not calendars -- and both sides are in agreement on this point," he added.
Earlier on Monday, however, Maliki told Arab ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates that it was seeking a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops as part of the agreement, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
"The direction we are taking is to have a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to have a timetable for their withdrawal," the statement quoted Maliki as saying.
Asked about the prime minister's comments, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters: "With respect to timetables I would say the same thing I would say as respects to the security situation -- it is dependent on conditions on the ground."
Whitman said the United States had made clear "that we have no long term desires to have forces permanently stationed in Iraq."
Maliki said for the first time on Monday that Iraq was seeking such a timetable as part of its negotiations with Washington on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008.
But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the talks were aimed at reaching agreement on a framework for future US-Iraqi relations and on the arrangements that will govern the US military presence.
"It is important to understand that these are not talks on a hard date for a withdrawal," he said.
"As Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker has said, we are looking at conditions, and not calendars -- and both sides are in agreement on this point," he added.
Earlier on Monday, however, Maliki told Arab ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates that it was seeking a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops as part of the agreement, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
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"The direction we are taking is to have a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to have a timetable for their withdrawal," the statement quoted Maliki as saying.
Asked about the prime minister's comments, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters: "With respect to timetables I would say the same thing I would say as respects to the security situation -- it is dependent on conditions on the ground."
Whitman said the United States had made clear "that we have no long term desires to have forces permanently stationed in Iraq."
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