WASHINGTON, July 19: The United States and Iraq have agreed to a “general time horizon” for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, says the White House amid reports that at least some of the troops withdrawn from Iraq will be deployed in Afghanistan.

The White House announcement marks a softening of President George W. Bush’s long-standing opposition to deadlines for reducing the US presence in Iraq and was reached in a video conference on Friday between Mr Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

“In the area of security cooperation, the president and the prime minister agreed that improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting inspirational goals,” the White House said.

Those goals include turning over more control to Iraqi security forces and “the further reduction of US combat forces from Iraq,” the statement said.

The accords under negotiation are intended to “establish a normalised bilateral relationship between Iraq and the United States.”

In a related development, Iraqi prime minister Maliki told top German news magazine, Spiegel, that he supported US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. Asked when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq,