US President George W. Bush discussed on Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the effort to reach a long-term bilateral security pact, the White House said.
Speaking at a video conference, "President Bush confirmed the United States' commitment to forge an agreement that fully respects Iraqi sovereignty," US national security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.
Maliki also "confirmed his commitment to conclude an agreement that meets our mutual interests across the subject areas outlined in the Declaration of Principles, including economic, diplomatic, and security cooperation," Johndroe said.
The latest discussion between Bush and Maliki occurred after the latter said last week that talks with the United Sates on a long-term security pact have reached a "dead end" due to concerns that it might infringe on Iraqi sovereignty.
"We have reached a dead end, because when we started the talks, we found that the US demands would hugely infringe on the sovereignty of Iraq, and this is something we can never accept," Maliki told reporters when he was visiting Amman, Jordan.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2008)
