Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday that a long-term security agreement between Baghdad and Washington is "almost finalized."

    "I believe that we have achieved a great progress in our talks and we have almost finalized the strategic framework agreement, that will improve cooperation between Iraq and United States on whole range of issues, including the security one," Zebari told a news conference in Baghdad.

    Zebari said he briefed the lawmakers on Tuesday at Iraqi parliament about his visit last month to Washington, where he met U.S. President George W. Bush and other senior U.S. officials to explain Iraq's stance on the ongoing negotiations about the security pact.

    He said he also conveyed a message from Washington that "whatever the decision of the Iraqi government would be about the security pact," the United States would "only stay in Iraq under legal status."

    Zebari made it clear that if his country fail to sign a strategic framework agreement with the United States, it will be obliged to demand an extension for the UN mandate until the country build its own security forces.

    He also said the United States was ready to give up control of Iraqi air space if the Iraqis guarantee that they could protect the country's skies with their limited air force.

    Meanwhile, Zebari said Iraq expected visits of Jordanian King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Rccep Tayyip Erdogan as a sign that Iraq was normalizing its ties with Arab countries and international community.

    "Soon, there will be some high level visits to Iraq. King Abdullah of Jordan is expected to visit Baghdad, the first for an Arab leader," Zebari said.

    "This diplomatic ease came as a result of efforts exerted by the Iraqi government which also reflected the world's confidence with the new political regime of Iraq," he added.

    U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agreed on a declaration of principles last November to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July, which would decide the future presence of U.S. troops in Iraq and long-term bilateral economic, political and security relations.