The US troop pullout was called a day of 'Iraqi sovereignty' by the country's prime minister [AFP]

Under the US-Iraq Status of Forces agreement, which sets out a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, American troops must exit the country by December 31, 2011.

But Nuri al-Maliki said at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Thursday: "The security relations between the Americans and the Iraqis ... is a relationship based on co-operation and all the foundations and rules that were put forth in the agreements.

"Nevertheless, if the Iraqis require further training and support we shall examine this at that time, based on the needs of Iraq."

His comments mark a shift in his position and come less than a month after US troops pulled out of Iraq's towns and cities, handing sole control of security in the areas to domestic security forces.

Deadline set

Al-Maliki's apparent willingness for US forces to stay in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline comes a day after he met Barack Obama, the US president, at the White House.

Speaking afterwards, Obama said: "Going forward, we will continue to provide training and support for Iraqi security forces that are capable and non-sectarian.

"We will move forward with our strategy to responsibly remove American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next August and fulfil our commitment to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011."

Analysts say that Obama needs the troop redeployment to go to schedule so that he can send soldiers to Afghanistan, where US and Nato forces are fighting the Taliban.

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