Obama holds 'constructive' talks with Iraqi Prime Minister

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President Barack Obama says violence will continue in Iraq, but that the insurgents will fail. Obama was speaking when meeting Wednesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House.

Obama's Iraq stop follows a visit to Afghanistan. (AFP photo)

At a news conference following their meeting, Obama repeated the U.S. pledge to pull all US forces out of Iraq by the end of the year 2011. He also said the United States seeks no permanent bases in Iraq, and does not want any Iraqi territory. For his part, al-Maliki said the two sides talked about "every possible area" where the U.S. could play a role in working with the Iraqi government.

Obama said the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities last month is a clear signal that the U.S. intends to keep its commitments. Al-Maliki's visit is part of a redefining of relations on both sides. Both al-Maliki and Obama said they supported moves toward lifting a U.N. sanction that requires Iraq to pay 5 percent of its oil revenues as reparations for the 1991 Gulf War.