Iraqi Premier demands changes to US mily deal

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is demanding changes to a draft deal on the status of US forces beyond this year, a key Shia ally in the governing coalition said on Sunday.

“There are points in the agreement that are still pending and they can’t be approved without changes in order to preserve the complete sovereignty of Iraq,” the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) quoted Maliki as telling fellow Shia politicians at a meeting on Saturday.

Iraq’s chief negotiator Muhammad al-Haj Hammoud had told AFP on Friday that the two negotiating teams had finalised a 27-point deal to put before the two governments and it was now up to the leaders to take a decision.

Hammoud said that the agreement had already been endorsed by US President George W Bush, although a White House spokesman later said that the discussions were still ongoing.