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Baghdad: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Thursday for discussions with Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and other top Iraqi officials, hoping to iron out remaining differences in a US-Iraq security deal that envisions the withdrawal of American troops.
"The negotiators have taken this very, very far," she told reporters, "but there is no reason to believe that there is an agreement yet."
She flew into Baghdad amid indications that a draft deal had been concluded, but she said that was premature.
"There are still issues concerning exactly how our forces operate," Rice said. "The agreement rests on aspirational timelines."
Rice declined to talk about specifics, but officials said more work is needed to reach agreements on a timeline for US troop withdrawals, immunity for US troops and the handling of Iraqi prisoners.
"Ultimately the prime minister has to make the call on moving forward," Rice said. She described her visit as "a chance for me to meet with the prime minister and see what we can do from Washington to get to closure."
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