The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Amman

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Friday that negotiations with the United States on a long-term security pact are deadlocked because of concern the deal infringes Iraqi sovereignty.

"We have reached an impasse because when we opened these negotiations we did not realise that the US demands would so deeply affect Iraqi sovereignty and this is something we can never accept," he said in Amman.

"We cannot allow US forces to have the right to jail Iraqis or assume, alone, the responsibility of fighting against terrorism," Maliki told Jordanian newspaper editors, according to a journalist present at the meeting. The White House, meanwhile, vowed to pursue the talks while respecting Iraq's sovereignty.

"We are not sure of the exact words he (Maliki) used, we intend to continue to work with the Iraqis on the negotiations," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.