"I would caution against anyone thinking that it's off its rails. We are on track," spokeswoman Dana Perino said after the Washington Post said the two sides had given up on a long-term deal and now sought a short-term arrangement.

Perino declined to restate the deadline or to say whether she was talking about a long-term or a short-term accord.

Baghdad and Washington have been working on an agreement that would set the rules for US soldiers in the war-torn country after the UN mandate for their presence expires at year's end.

US President George W. Bush had set a July 31 goal for wrapping up the accord -- but negotiations appear to have run into trouble, particularly over whether US troops would be immune from Iraqi prosecution, and whether to set a withdrawal timetable.

Asked whether the talks were on track to yield a deal by late July, Perino replied: "We'll look and see -- that was certainly our target."

"We think that we will be able to get an agreement. The most important thing is the part of the agreement that would allow for our forces to be able to operate there, in their security context," she said.

"We're on track, but we want to make sure that the gains that we've seen in Iraq are sustained and cemented, and that's just going to take us a little bit more time," she said.

Asked whether she meant a long-term agreement or a short-term "bridge," Perino replied: "I don't know how (US) Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker is framing it. Obviously they're in negotiations on a wide range of issues."

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