Brown in Baghdad, says to follow up British troops pullout from Basra without timetable

Obama avoids discussing troops withdrawal with Maliki; calls for troops increase in Afghanistan

Rice hints at fresh momentum in diplomacy with Iran

Rice: Two-week deadline for Iran to give serious answer; otherwise we'll go New York

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that plans are underway to scale back troops in Iraq, but he would not set an "artificial timetable."

Brown's comments -- made during an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital to hold talks with counterpart Nouri al-Maliki -- come in advance of next week's scheduled address to British lawmakers on Iraq, when he is expected to give more details on troop reduction plans.

Britain has about 4,000 troops in Iraq, based around the southern city of Basra. British troops handed over security control to Iraqis late last year, but still maintain a presence in Basra province.

According to AP, Brown said "enormous progress" had been made to lower violence and begin economic reconstruction around Iraq. "There has been a very big turnaround," he added.

Both leaders stressed the importance of building long-term relations between Iraq and Britain, the future of the British presence in Iraq and economic issues, the Iraqi government confirmed

. Brown also met with President Jalal Talabani and other Iraqi leaders, including Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, according to a statement from the Iraqi presidency. Watch Gordon Brown's meeting with Iraqi leaders »

Other attendees of that meeting included the deputy president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Kosart Rassoul, and other Kurdish officials.

"Talabani briefed Brown and the accompanying delegation on the political, security and economic developments Iraq has witnessed over the recent months which spread security and stability across the country," the presidential statement said.

They discussed issues concerning both countries "in a way that strengthens relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom in the upcoming period," according to the statement.

During the discussion, the British prime minister cited what he called, "positive political developments achieved recently," which he attributed to a drop in violence, the statement said.

Limiting militia and outlaw activity in Basra, Mosul and other areas contributed as well, he said.

Violence has decreased recently in Iraq, and there have been improvements in the performance of the Iraqi security forces.

Brown also paid particular attention to economic cooperation between Britain and Iraq, the statement said, specifically what role his country and British companies would play in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Iraq.

Talabani emphasized the importance of national harmony, and pointed to the return of the Accord Front -- the country's Iraq's largest Sunni Arab bloc -- rejoining the Cabinet.

The bloc -- which includes 44 lawmakers in the 275-member parliament -- pulled six ministers from the Cabinet last August for several reasons, including the monopolization of power by Shiites and Kurds and what had been regarded as the unjust detention of Sunni Arabs.

The Accord Front's return was part of a deal announced July 1 in which al-Maliki accepted proposals from the bloc for five candidates to fill the several ministries that bloc members vacated last summer.

Brown's visit comes less than a week after the head of the British armed forces said troop levels in Iraq should start to come down over the course of 2009.

Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, the chief of the defense staff, told the BBC that troop numbers will have be more "sustainable" given Britain's military involvement in Afghanistan.

The White House said that President George W. Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for bringing out more U.S. troops -- marking a dramatic shift from the administration's past refusals to discuss any kind of deadline or timetable.

The two men "agreed that the goals would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal," the White House said in a statement

. US presidential candidate Democrat Barack Obama has received backing from Iraq's leadership for his call to pull out American combat forces from Iraq in 2010.

His call, made during a visit to Baghdad, upset the Bush Administration and drew heated criticism from rival Republican John McCain.

Senator Obama's Iraq visit has forced the five-year-old war back to the top of the presidential campaign agenda.

It included briefings and a helicopter ride above Baghdad with United States commander General David Petraeus, as well as meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other government leaders.

Senator McCain was battling to stay in the campaign spotlight as Senator Obama's travels drew huge media attention. The four-term Arizona senator, who appeared wrong-footed by the Iraq developments, disagreed with Senator Obama about troop withdrawals.

Senator McCain said any pull-out ''must be based on conditions on the ground'', not arbitrary timelines.

Iraq the third destination on the tour aimed at bolstering Senator Obama's foreign policy credentials followed a challenge from Senator McCain, who complained that Senator Obama was wrong to plan for troop withdrawals without having visited Iraq since January 2006.

Disagreement between Senator McCain and Senator Obama deepened when Iraqi Government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh said, ''We are hoping that in 2010 that combat troops will withdraw from Iraq.''

Senator Obama repeatedly said he wanted to have those forces out of the country by the middle of 2010.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report, and he called presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."

In Baghdad, however, the chief spokesman for al-Maliki issued a statement saying the prime minister's comments were "not conveyed accurately" by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said al-Maliki did not endorse a specific timetable but instead discussed a "an Iraqi vision" of U.S. troop withdrawals based on negotiations with Washington and "and in the light of the continuing positive developments on the ground."

The Der Spiegel article quoted al-Maliki as giving apparent backing to the withdrawal plans discussed by Obama - the Illinois senator and likely Democratic nominee has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months if he is elected.

"That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," al-Maliki was quoted as saying. "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Asked when U.S. forces would leave Iraq, he responded, "As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned."

In the interview, al-Maliki said he was not seeking to endorse Obama.

President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for bringing more U.S. troops home from the war, a dramatic shift from the administration's ironclad unwillingness to talk about any kind of deadline or timetable.

The announcement put Bush in the position of offering to talk with Iraqi leaders about a politically charged issue that he has adamantly refused to discuss with the Democratic-led Congress at home. It could also complicate the presidential campaign arguments of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, who have staked out starkly opposing stands on the unpopular war.

Iraq has leverage because the White House is struggling to salvage negotiations for a long-term agreement covering U.S. military operations there. The White House said its goal is to conclude that deal by the end of this month.

Iraq deal may subvert Obama, McCain plans Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talked about the stalled negotiations during a secure video conference, agreeing "on a common way forward to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible," a White House statement said.

The leaders agreed that improvements in security should allow for negotiations "to include a general time horizon for meeting operational goals, such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq," the White House said.

Bush has vetoed legislation approved by Congress setting deadlines for American troop cutbacks.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met with the US democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, in Baghdad. During the meeting, which was attended by David Satterfield, the US state department's senior adviser for Iraq, the latest political progress taking place in Iraq was discussed.

President Talabani briefed Obama on the latest security achievements, saying they can pave the way to offer further public services to the Iraqis.

Barack Obama said that he came to Iraq to see the conditions on the ground and he appreciated the achievements.

Obama referred to the diplomatic success that Iraq has achieved with its neighbors. He also affirmed Iraq-Us relations based on mutual respects and common interest.

John McCain, the presidential Republican nominee, sharply criticized the Illinois senator over his initial opposition to the surge policy in Iraq and his short resume in dealing with foreign affairs.

But McCain aides consider the trip chiefly political in nature — an attempt by Obama to burnish his foreign policy credentials — and said both his campaign and the Democratic National Committee shattered precedent by attacking McCain while he was in Europe and the Middle East in March, and during his recent trips to Canada, Colombia and Mexico.

"Sen. Obama has said this is going to be a listening tour. We certainly hope very sincerely he listens to the advice of our military commanders," McCain senior foreign policy adviser Cheunemann said in a campaign conference. "The question is whether he will listen to them. Or will he ignore there military judgment on the importance on having a conditions based withdrawal and supplant it with his own military assessment which is really based on a political calculation rather than any experience he has."

"We are winning the war and Sen. Obama was wrong," McCain told CBS. "He railed against it. He voted against the surge and he said it would fail. He was wrong there, and there's very little doubt in my mind that he will see for himself that he had a gross misjudgment and he will correct that."

"I'm glad that Senator Obama's going to get a chance for the first time to sit down with General David Petraeus and understand what the surge was all about, why it succeeded and why we are winning the war,” said the presumptive Republican nominee. “And that is because we carried out a strategy which has succeeded, and Sen. Obama rallied against, voted against, and used his opposition to the surge as a way of gaining the nomination of his party."

McCain also criticized Obama for not doing more as chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee to deal with NATO's involvement in Afghanistan. Since assuming that chairmanship two years ago, Obama has yet to hold a hearing dealing with the ongoing war in that country — though Sen. Joe Biden, the chairman of the full committee, said last week those issues are dealt with at the full committee level, not Obama's subcommittee.

McCain also took jabs at Obama over his proposals to battle the county's economic woes, and defended his own experience on the issue.

"I have far more experience on the economy than Senator Obama," he said on NBC. "I'm very strong on the economy. I was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee on Science and Transportation, which addresses all these issues."

Democratic presidential Barack Obama arrived in Kuwait, KUNA state news agency reported.

Obama was received by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, KUNA said, adding that they had discussed "matters of mutual interest."

Kuwait's ruler also hosted Obama for dinner, it said, without clarifying whether he had later left the country for his next stop.

The Obama campaign, which has been keeping details of his itinerary secret for security reasons, had no immediate comment on reports the senator was in Kuwait.

Obama met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, the second day of a visit to Afghanistan that is meant to bolster the senator's foreign policy credentials

Obama has previously criticized Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the hard-line Islamist Taliban in 2001, but said the purpose of this trip was to listen rather than deliver strong messages.

Obama, part of a congressional delegation, was at the heavily guarded Afghan presidential palace in the capital Kabul and was having lunch with Karzai, a palace official said.

Obama criticized Karzai in an interview with CNN.

"I think the Karzai government has not gotten out of the bunker and helped to organize Afghanistan, and the government, the judiciary, police forces, in ways that would give people confidence. So there are a lot of problems there," he said.

Once the darling of the West, Karzai has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for failing to take tough action to clamp down on rampant corruption, tackle former warlords and stamp out record-breaking drug production -- all factors that feed the growing Taliban insurgency.

But asked ahead of the trip whether he would have tough talk for Karzai and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Obama replied: "I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking."

"And I think it is very important to recognize that I'm going over there as a U.S. senator. We have one president at a time, so it's the president's job to deliver those messages," Obama said.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called nuclear talks ‘constructive’ and agreed to resume negotiations in two weeks after Tehran ruled out freezing its uranium enrichment program in talks that included the United States for the first time.

"The meeting was constructive, but we didn't get still the answer we were looking for,"" Solana told reporters after talks.

Jalili also described the talks as ‘constructive and progressing’ in comments to reporters afterwards.

Jalili added that ""on the manner of continuing the negotiations we have understood better our mutual positions."

Iran’s top negotiator asked that Western powers not turn away from negotiations.

"Iran is calling on the Western powers to resume the dialogue," AFP quoted him as saying.

U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns was present in talks, but did not speak publicly. Washington's participation at the talks — the first instance of the Americans attending such meetings — had led to hopes of compromise.

Iran’s uranium enrichment program has been the main bone contention between Iran and the West. Iran, as a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, is legally entitled to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Solana said the Iranian team did not accept a halt to enrichment suspension.

"I hope to have an answer to that and other questions in two weeks' time," Reuters quoted Solana as saying.

The Sunday talks followed the submission of a renewed package to Iran in mid-June which is intended to persuade Tehran to stop its enrichment work in exchange for some trade and technological incentives.

There had been a response from Tehran to the package in the form of a letter, but ""we have not got a clear answer to the most important issue that we sent in the document called 'The Way Forward'," Solana said.

"No word was mentioned about suspension. What happened in Geneva was some discussions about the two sides' approaches to the nuclear talks and their timing," Jalili told reporters who asked him if the issue of suspending Iran's nuclear activities was raised during the talks.

Commenting on a reportedly two-week deadline for Iran, Jalili said, "Based on a primitive agreement, they presented an offer for the resumption of nuclear talks and we had also an initiative to this end. The two sides are expected to consider the issue for two weeks and comment about it."

Jalili added that "good discussions" were held about how to proceed with the nuclear talks.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said prior to the Geneva talks that Iran offered to draw up a modality plan to resolve the dispute about Iranian nuclear program.

Jalili told the meeting in Geneva that Iran prefers the "six plus one" action plan rather than the "seven minus one".

Jalili also attended a meeting with Solana who represented the Group 5+1, about Iran's nuclear standoff with the West

. Foreign ministers of the GCC countries, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the United States began their joint meeting at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting was attended by HH sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, Faisal Ahmed Al Haji, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmed Abu Al Ghait, Egyptian Foreign Minister, Salah El Din Al Bashir, Jordanian Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi Foreign Minister, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Nazar Al Baharna, Bahrain's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Abdullah Al Ramahi, Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister, HRH Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Saud Sr., Under Secretary of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Ali Al Qutbi, Oman Ambassador to the UAE and Abdul Rahman Hamad Al Attiyah, the GCC Secretary General.

The participants discussed Iranian nuclear file, Iraqi issues and regional matters.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions.

Rice said Iran had given the run-around to envoys from the U.S. and five other world powers. She said all six nations were serious about a two-week deadline Iran now has to agree to freeze suspect activities and start negotiations or be hit with new penalties.

Iran had been expected to respond to a package of incentives offered in exchange for halting enrichment of uranium, which can be used to fuel atomic weapons. The Bush administration broke with long-standing policy to send a top diplomat to support the offer.

However, Rice said that instead of a coherent answer, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili delivered a "meandering" monologue full of irrelevant "small talk about culture" that appeared to annoy many of the others present at the table in Geneva.

"We expected to hear an answer from the Iranians but, as has been the case so many times with the Iranians, what came through was not serious," Rice told reporters aboard her plane as she flew to the United Arab Emirates. "It's time for the Iranians to give a serious answer."

"They can't go and stall and make small talk about culture, they have to make a decision," she said. "People are tired of the Iranians and their stalling tactics."

Iranian state radio reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad called the talks a "step ahead" and said country's formal assessment would be issued soon.