U.S. vice president: Iraq close to form new gov't

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he believed Iraq was close to forming a new government after the parliamentary elections were held six months ago, an Iraqi television reported.

Biden was quoted by the al-Sharqya private channel as saying that he had met with everyone of the major leaders of the Iraqi groups that won portions of the vote in the elections, and he was convinced that they were close to forming a new government.

"The government will be representing the outcome of the elections which was very much divided," he said.

Biden arrived in Baghdad on Monday and has met with top Iraqi officials to urge them to form a government nearly six months after the parliamentary elections were held in the country.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also arrived in Baghdad earlier on Wednesday. Both Biden and Gates are due to attend a ceremony at the Faw Palace near Baghdad airport to mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq and the start of the new "advise and assist" mission, dubbed "Operation New Dawn."

The U.S. troops in Iraq have been reduced to below 50,000 soldiers which will conduct support and training missions in the war-torn country.

Source: Xinhua