US vice president, Iraqi prime minister discuss post-pullout ties

Nov 30, 2011, 11:08 GMT

Baghdad - US Vice President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malki discussed Wednesday the form relations between the two allies will take after US troops complete withdrawal from Iraq, according to local media.

Biden, who had arrived for a surprise visit to Baghdad late Tuesday, was quoted by the governmental broadcaster Al Iraqia as saying that the US withdrawal from Iraq heralded a new era in ties 'between two sovereign countries.'

President Barack Obama announced last month that all US troops would leave the country by the end of the year, after more than eight years of military involvement in the country.

Shiite lawmaker Hakem al-Zamali told dpa Wednesday that Biden was in Baghdad to secure immunity for US forces that might stay in Iraq after the year-end withdrawal.

'Biden's presence in Iraq is to pressure the government, parliament and political groups to grant immunity to the American troops in the post-withdrawal phase,' added al-Zamali, who is close to influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

'We (al-Sadarists) reject and condemn such visits because their agenda does not serve Iraq,' said al-Zamali.

Al-Sadar has repeatedly threatened that US troops staying on in Iraq after the 2011 deadline will be dealt with as occupation forces and face armed resistance.

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