WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) -- Washington has no preference in who leads the Iraqi government but it is vital that the process moves forward, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
Clinton met in Washington with her Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, who led a delegation of officials to discuss bilateral affairs.
Iraqi is still without a government more than four months after parliamentary elections March 7. None of the leading coalitions won enough seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives to form a new government alone.
An alliance between two Shiite parties led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was four seats shy of the ruling majority, though coalition members were unable to agree on a candidate for prime minister.
Clinton, in talks with the visiting Iraqi foreign minister, said Iraq's independence was important to Washington but stressed the process of forming a new government must move forward.
"The people of Iraq deserve to have a government that is ready to meet their needs and we hope that that occurs soon," she said.
Iyad Allawi, a former interim prime minister who led his secular Iraqiya slate to a narrow victory in March, insists he has the right to form a new government first but lacks the 163-seat majority to do so alone.
Zebari said his government was doing its best to avoid a lasting political vacuum in Baghdad.
"I think that people are aware of the urgency," he said.
