UN, August 15 (RIA Novosti) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday welcomed the decision of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to step aside and said he is looking forward to swift formation of new government.
“This will allow the crucial process to form a new government to proceed swiftly and within the time frame provided for in the Constitution,” the official UN statement said.
“The Secretary-General urges all political leaders in Iraq to build on this historic opportunity by redoubling their efforts to work together so as to build consensus on how to address the many urgent and grave challenges facing their country. He looks forward to the swift formation of an inclusive, broad-based government ready to immediately tackle these pressing issues,” according to the statement .
On Thursday, Iraq’s Nouri Maliki announced his resignation from the post of Prime Minister and supported his nominated replacement in the post, Haider Abadi.
On Monday, Iraqi President Fuad Masum nominated Abadi to form the next government and has given him 30 days to do so. Maliki initially refused to step aside saying that such a move violated the constitution.
Abadi was endorsed by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Maliki had been facing pressure to step aside for a new leader who would be capable of countering Islamic State militants – the biggest security threat in the country.
