President Bush and the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet next week in Jordan to discuss the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.
The meeting in Amman on November 29-30 is not expected to create any “big, bold announcements”. Instead, the leaders will discuss current developments in Iraq and allow a joint committee to report on any developments in transferring security responsibilities from coalition troops to Iraqi security forces.
A joint statement by the two leaders, released last night, said: “We will focus our discussions on current developments in Iraq, progress made to date in the deliberations of a high-level joint committee on transferring security responsibilities and the role of the region in supporting Iraq.
“We reiterate our commitment to building the foundations of a peaceful, democratic and secure Iraq and to strengthening the partnership between our two nations,” the statement said.
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Mr Bush, who has just returned from an eight-day Asia trip, will fly directly to the meeting after attending a Nato summit in Riga, Latvia.
While in Indonesia, Mr Bush said that he would not decide whether to send more troops to Iraq or bring some home until he had heard from a variety of sources, including a pending internal review of the war from the Pentagon and other parts of the Administration, as well as next month’s report of the Iraq Study Group.
Stephen Hadley, US National Security Adviser, said that when the two leaders meet in Jordan, “We’re not looking for a big, bold announcement.”
He said that the meeting will allow a joint commission established to examine how to speed up the transition from coalition to Iraqi security forces to report to Mr Bush and Mr al-Maliki
“It will also be an opportunity for the President and the Prime Minister to review the situation in Iraq more generally and talk about the way forward in order to accomplish ... move toward our objectives in an expeditious way,” Mr Hadley said.
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On Monday, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked the leaders of Iraq and Syria to attend a weekend summit in Tehran, a move seen as another effort by Iran to play a strong role in the Middle East.
Mr Hadley, when asked about the role of Iran and Syria, said: “We think it is important that Iraq be speaking directly to these countries and making it clear to them that they need to play a positive role in seeking security, stability and democracy in Iraq. ... We are supportive of Iraqi government officials as they deliver that message.”
Mr Hadley said that Jordan had been chosen as the site of the meeting because of its support for the unity government in Iraq. In their statement, the two leaders said they looked forward to meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Mr Bush and Mr al-Maliki last met on July 25, in Washington. At the same time as their meeting next week, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is due to be in Jordan attending a Middle East democracy and development conference at a resort on the Dead Sea.