U.S. flexible on Iraq pact, hurdles remain: Zebari

By Khalid al-Ansary

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States has shown flexibility in negotiations with Iraq on a new security pact, Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday, adding the deal would be transparent and open to public scrutiny in Iraq.

Hoshiyar Zebari said positions on both sides had softened since talks to provide a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq began a few months ago, but sticking points remained, including control of military operations and airspace.

Another obstacle was the power to detain Iraqi citizens, Zebari said.

"The U.S. delegation recently has shown a great deal of flexibility on many thorny issues," Zebari told a news conference.

"In any negotiations you cannot get everything you want," he added, without outlining the compromises that had been made.

Officials say Washington has dropped its demand for private contractors working for the U.S. government or military to have immunity from Iraqi law. Joint committees are also expected to vet planned U.S. military operations in advance.

The security pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq that expires on December 31.

Washington and Baghdad are also negotiating a separate long-term agreement on political, economic and security ties.

If no agreement is reached by the time the U.N. mandate expires, an extension could be sought or an interim deal made, Zebari said.

After five years in Iraq, President George W. Bush's administration has set an end-July target for wrapping up the negotiations, even as some Iraqi officials have questioned whether the timetable can be met.

Countering Iraqi accusations of a lack of transparency in the talks, Zebari said any deal would be put before parliament.

"The government will not do anything behind the backs of its people," Zebari said.

With violence falling, the U.S. military is withdrawing additional troops who were deployed to Iraq in 2007 to quell rampant sectarian violence.

There will still be 140,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq once the last of those reinforcements have left this month.

The United States has security pacts with dozens of countries. Zebari said Iraq had sent delegations to South Korea and Japan to study the agreements and U.S. bases there.

(Writing by Mohammed Abbas, Editing by Dean Yates and Alison Williams)