(dpa) - US and Iraqi officials began talks Tuesday on agreements to govern future bilateral relations, Iraq's foreign ministry said.
Delegations from the two countries were meeting at the ministry in Baghdad to open negotiations on "long-term cooperation and friendship" between them, according to the ministry's website.
Among the agreements under discussion was the one that will govern the "temporary presence of US forces on the basis of mutual interests and respect for the sovereignty of both countries," the ministry said.
There are about 159,000 US troops in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. The United Nations' mandate for the deployment of foreign troops expires at the end of the year. The Iraqi government has repeatedly indicated that it does not desire an extension.
Critics of the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who oppose the planned agreements, believe these were not being entered into between two sovereign states but "under pressure from the US as an occupying force."