Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has raised the prospect of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
Talks are continuing on a new security deal, but the US has said it opposes setting any timetable for withdrawal.
The UN mandate under which US troops stay in Iraq expires at the end 2008.
Correspondents say Mr Maliki may have an easier time getting the support of Iraqi MPs by proposing a deal which includes a withdrawal timetable.
US and Iraq sends negotiating team to Iran ...
Fresh fighting reported in Basra ... Iraqi governments have been negotiating a detailed bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) since March and it was supposed to be concluded this month.
Many Iraqis want to see an end to the American military presence in their country, but are fearful of the consequences for security.
In violence on Monday, a female suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded 12 others in an attack on an Iraqi market, police said.
Respect for sovereignty
A statement from Mr Maliki's office quoted him as telling Arab ambassadors in the UAE: "The direction we are taking is to have a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to have a timetable for their withdrawal."
"The negotiations are still continuing with the American side, but in any case the basis for the agreement will be respect for the sovereignty of Iraq."
It was the first time that the prime minister had specifically suggested the setting of a timetable for a US withdrawal.
US officials in Baghdad did not issue an immediate reaction to the comments.
The American position has always been that setting a timetable for withdrawal gives an advantage to insurgents who have been battling US forces since the 2003 invasion which overthrow Saddam Hussein.
A possible withdraw from Iraq has become a major issue in the US presidential election campaign and could also figure prominently in local elections in Iraq in October.
(BBC)
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