Biden Says U.S., Iraq Embarking on 'New Phase' in Ties

The United States and Iraq are embarking on a new phase in their relationship despite the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country next month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in Baghdad Wednesday.

"Our troops... are leaving Iraq and we are embarking on a new path together, a new phase in this relationship... between two sovereign nations," Biden said at the opening of a meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee.

"That partnership includes a robust security relationship, based on what... you think that relationship should be."

Biden arrived in Baghdad late Tuesday for his eighth visit as vice president, which comes after a bloody seven days in which at least 61 people were killed in a wave of attacks in Iraq.

The trip had not been previously announced by the White House, but Biden has been U.S. President Barack Obama's point man in overseeing the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country by the end of this year.

Speaking before the committee alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Biden said that Washington had kept its promise to pull out all of its soldiers on schedule.

He said the committee would be the centerpiece of U.S. and Iraqi efforts to build their relationship, notably in security issues such as training, intelligence and counter-terrorism.

"We kept our promise to withdraw from Iraq's cities in 2009. We kept our promise to end our combat mission in the summer of 2010," said Biden.

"And now, we are keeping our promise we made back in 2008 to remove our troops from Iraq by the end of this year, and they will be removed.

"Drawing down our forces is not only in the best interest of Iraq, but it's in the best interest of the United States of America as well, and the best interest of the relationship.

"In one month, our troops will have left Iraq, but our close strategic partnership ... will, God willing, continue," he said.