Kerry Meets Iraq's PM; New Iraq Gov't by July 1
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (Worthy News)– U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for nearly two hours on Monday. Kerry received commitments from Maliki to begin the process of forming a new national government in Baghdad by July 1, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Mr. Kerry met with Iraq's leader for nearly two hours Monday to stress the need for a new Iraqi government to unify its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities against the mounting threat posed by the al Qaeda-linked militia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, that has gained control of large swaths of western Iraq in recent weeks.
The top U.S. diplomat, in an unannounced, one-day stop in Baghdad, also met with top Shiite and Kurdish leaders Monday to press the same point.
"The goal of today was to get clarity," Mr. Kerry said. "Prime Minister Maliki firmly, and on multiple occasions…affirmed his commitment to July 1 when the Parliament will convene." — Source
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