Hillary Clinton affirms U.S. commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: U.S Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton made a phone call with Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Jan. 27, 2009. Secretary Clinton stressed on her strong commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty and democracy and the bilateral relations between Iraq and United States of America. “Secretary Clinton pointed to the important role of the Foreign Ministry in strengthening Iraq’s relationship with Arab, Islamic and Global surroundings, and stressed that despite of the progress and great development achieved by the Iraqi Government there is a lot to achieve to shift the strategic framework agreement to between the two countries to reality,” said a foreign ministry’s statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency. ”On his part, Zebari expressed his appreciation to the American Secretary of State for her phone call and congratulated her for her nomination as Secretary of State by the senate and invited her to visit Iraq,” the statement added. The Status of Forces Agreement that the Bush administration finally concluded before leaving office with the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gives a three-year deadline for withdrawal from Iraq by U.S. forces. But Obama in his campaign pledged to pull them out in 16 months – less than half that time. SH (S) 1