US President Joe Biden urged Iraqis Wednesday to support dialogue to resolve a months-long political crisis that erupted into violence, in a call with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Biden “commended” Kadhimi's “personal leadership during escalating tensions and violence over a 24-hour period earlier this week," the White House said in a statement after their call, adding the two leaders agreed to stay in touch in the coming weeks.
Biden and Kadhimi "welcomed the return of security to the streets, and called on all Iraqi leaders to engage in a national dialogue to forge a common way forward consistent with Iraq's constitution and laws," the statement said.
The US leader also voiced support for "a sovereign and independent Iraq.”
Kadhimi had in mid-August called for a national dialogue involving main political leaders, although Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr did not agree to participate.
Tensions escalated sharply Monday when Sadr said he would quit politics, with his supporters storming an area in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone in violence that killed 30 people.
