Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday said his government and the United States have agreed to the end of 2011 as the deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, dpa reported.
"After 2011 no foreign soldiers will no longer be in Iraq," al-Maliki told a gathering of leaders of Iraq's Bani Lam tribe.
Iraq has insisted on a timeframe for the withdrawal of US troops in ongoing negotiations for a security agreement between the two countries.
The Status of Forces Agreement would establish a legal basis for the presence of US soldiers in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires end of this year.
Al-Maliki also stressed that although there had been significant progress in negotiations towards an agreement, there were still key differences between the two sides. The Iraqi leadership wanted these to be ironed out before its lawmakers vote on the matter in parliament.