US, Iraqi presidents plan talks

TALK TIME: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (pictured) will meet George W. Bush to try forge a deal on US military presence in Iraq. (AFP)

US President George W. Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will meet Wednesday for talks on efforts to forge a deal on a US military presence in the war-battered country after 2008, the White House said Tuesday.

"I'm sure they will discuss the strategic framework agreement," which would set the rules for US troops after a renewable UN mandate expires late this year, US national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

Officials in Washington and Baghdad have said they hope to wrap up the controversial deal by July, though closed-door negotiations have only edged forward over the past several weeks with some compromises.

"The UN mandate expires at the end of this year. The Iraqis have told us that they do not want to renew that mandate, that their preference is to set an agreement with the United States for future involvement in Iraq," said Johndroe.

The meeting was not on Bush's officially released schedule until late Tuesday, and the US president's spokespeople did not mention it at either of the two regular daily briefings for reporters.

"He is the United States. Both presidents wanted to meet," said Johndroe.

"They're going to discuss a wide variety of issues. I expect they'll discuss the security situation in Iraq, the economic situation, the political situation, the whole range of issues the United States discusses with all Iraqi leaders," said the spokesman.

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