U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday urged leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait to help Iraq set up a government after historic elections, the White House said. "The president talked about how this was a hopeful moment for the region," spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters about the call, which followed Iraq's parliamentary elections. "The president thanked each of the leaders for their support for the Iraqi people and urged them to continue supporting the Iraqi people as they move forward on the transition from tyranny to freedom and democracy," he said.
The leaders were U.A.E. President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Saudi King Abdullah, Kuwait's Premier Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Jordan's King Abdullah II. "They discussed the high voter turnout and the large participation among Sunnis, and they talked about how the violence was down and, ... after that, the president talked about the formation of the government and the importance of making sure that there's an inclusive government in place," he said. "It's going to take some time to get the Cabinet in place, but all of us want to do what we can to assist the Iraqi people as they move forward on forming their government," said McClellan. |