HELSINKI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The representatives from Iraq's Shiite and Sunni groups who held four-day talks in Finland last weekend pointed out that U.S. forces are an impediment to achieving peace in Iraq, Finnish daily "Helsingin Sanomat" reported on Wednesday.

    The gathering was arranged by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, and by the John W. McCormack Institution of the University of Massachusetts, which was represented in the talks by Professor Padraig O'Malley.

    The Iraqi delegates taking part in the talks agreed on the need to get American forces out of the country as quickly as possible and they have set a "realistic timetable" for the withdrawal, Padraig O'Malley told "Helsingin Sanomat."

    According to Padraig O'Malley, who took part in the talks, all parties said that the earlier the occupation ends, the better.

    O'Malley said that the greatest achievement of the talks was that the representatives from Iraq's Shiite and Sunni gave their approval to the principles for future negotiations and committed themselves to working towards a lasting solution.

    In the Helsinki Agreement released by the CMI, the participants agreed to consult further on a list of recommendations to start negotiations to reach national reconciliation, including resolving all political disputes through non-violence and democracy.

    The recommendations also included prohibiting the use of arms for all armed groups during the process of negotiations, and forming an independent commission approved by all parties to supervise the process of disarmament of non-governmental armed groups in a verifiable manner.