Call to approve Iraq security deal
Iraq's foreign minister has told politicians the US had made major concessions in talks on a new security agreement.
Hoshyar Zebari also urged them to approve the deal to keep American troops here after the UN mandate expires at the end of the year.
He briefed politicans following his visit last month to Washington, where he met with US President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
His meetings in Washington focused on negotiations between the US and Iraq over a new security agreement between the two countries and a separate set of rules governing the actions of American soldiers.
Many Iraqi politicians have complained that US demands would infringe on Iraqi sovereignty, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said last month that the talks had reached an impasse.
But Mr Zebari told legislators that the Americans had made "great concessions to us," including an end to immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law enjoyed by American and other foreign security contractors.
He also said the US was prepared to give up control of Iraqi airspace if the Iraqis could guarantee that they could protect the country's skies with their limited air force.
Mr Zebari said the rules governing US troops would last for only one or two years while the separate security agreement would be long-term.
That appeared aimed as satisfying demands of key Shiite and Sunni legislators who had insisted that any agreement contain language that pointed to an eventual US withdrawal.
US officials have declined to discuss details of the negotiations but have expressed hope that they can conclude them by the end of this month. The Iraqi parliament must sign off on the deal.