BAGHDAD, Oct 30: Iraq plans to ask the United Nations Security Council to extend the mandate governing the presence of US-led forces for another year, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Monday.

“The presence of the multinational force is indispensable for the security and stability of Iraq and of the region at the moment,” Mr Zebari said in an interview.

“At the same time, the Iraqi government is ... willing to take more security responsibilities from these forces to do its part.” The existing UN mandate expires on Dec. 31 and Zebari said Iraq would request its extension in the next month or so.

He denied any real breach with Washington despite a public spat over the past week over when Iraq could take control of its own security and the focus of efforts to end the bloodshed.

“We have a shared objective to defeat terrorism, to stabilise the situation, to build a democratic, federal, united, strong Iraq,” Zebari said. “There is no rift whatsoever between Baghdad and Washington on these issues.”

Zebari also said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem had agreed to visit Baghdad, possibly in November.

It would be the first ministerial visit from Iraq’s neighbour and long-time rival in the region since the US-led invasion in 2003.—Reuters