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Paris: US President George W. Bush said on Saturday he expected to reach a security deal with Iraq despite the Iraqi leader saying talks were deadlocked because of sovereignty concerns.
"If I were a betting man, we'll reach an agreement with the Iraqis," Bush told a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "Of course we're there at their invitation."
The United States and Iraq have been negotiating a new security deal to make it legal for US troops to stay in Iraq after their UN mandate expires after December 31.
"We believe that a strategic relationship with Iraq is important, it's important for Iraq, it's important for the United States, it's important for the region," Bush said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said on Friday that the deal is on stalemate because of Washington’s demands on giving troops immunity from prosecution in Iraq.
The United States also wants freedom to conduct operations independent of Iraqi control, which Maliki said Iraq can not grant.
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