Sep 3, 2008, 18:52 GMT
Baghdad - British ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Prentice, on Wednesday revealed his country's intention to engage in negotiations with Iraq over an agreement which he said will regulate the presence of British troops after 2008.
'We will start negotiations with the Iraqi government to obtain a legal presence for our forces if our mission is not complete by the end of this year,' Prentice told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency in an interview at the headquarters of the British embassy in Baghdad.
'Reaching an agreement that provides a legal basis for the presence of troops is one of the goals of the negotiations that are currently taking pace between Iraq and the US, and will also be one of the most significant goals of our talks with the Iraqi side,' the ambassador explained.
The US seeks to sign a long-term security strategy with the Iraqi government, which it said will govern the presence of its forces in the country after 2008.
Media reports said in August that the US and Iraq have agreed that US combat troops would leave the Arab country entirely before the end of 2011.
Prentice noted that the British military presence in the country was made at the request of the Iraqi government and in accordance with United Nation Security Council's resolutions.
The presence of British troops, as well as all other coalition forces, currently relies on a mandate by the UN and is annually renewed at the request of the Iraqi government.
Britain was the United States' main ally in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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