Deal signing would be historic day in Iraq-U.S. relations – FM

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Monday that the day to sign the long-term security agreement between Iraq and the United States would be a historic one in relations between the two countries. “After months of talks and discussions on the security pact, the Iraqi cabinet has unanimously approved it and now the agreement is inside the Iraqi parliament for endorsement,” Zebari said in a joint press conference with U.S. ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker after they initially signed the deal. An Iraqi government spokesman had said that the cabinet approved the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) with an overwhelming majority of 27 votes to one. Ali al-Dabbagh said that the cabinet approved the pact in an extraordinary several hours’ session held on Sunday and referred it to parliament. Zebari said the agreement aims to develop political, socio-economic and security relations between the two countries as well as the plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. “This agreement, which embodies the ambition of all world countries, has taken a long time but the Iraqi government with all its components has approved it for the good and interests of Iraq,” Zebari stressed. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating a long-term security deal during the past months. The pact should determine the legal framework for the U.S. presence in Iraq after the end of this year, when the international mandate granted by the UN Security Council to the U.S. army to intervene in Iraq is due to expire. AmR (S) 1