Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agreed with US President George W Bush on a declaration of principles to be the basis of bilateral long-term relations, press reports said Tuesday. The agreement tackles Iraqi-US cooperation in the political, economic and security fields, al-Maliki said Monday in a speech broadcast by official Iraqi television.
Iraq will ask the United Nations to renew the mandate of the US- led coalition forces in Iraq till the end of 2008, according to al- Maliki.
The deal did not include any reference to setting up permanent military bases in Iraq. However, it emphasized the US commitment to protect Iraq from any possible foreign hostility.
Al-Maliki said the government was serious about restoring Iraq's status to what it was before UN resolution 661 in 1990 when the former regime of the executed ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded the neighbouring Kuwait.
"I can definitely say Iraq has no longer become a threat to the international peace and security in the region," he said.
