Obama hails Iraq 'milestone' after power-sharing deal

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US President Barack Obama has said the new power-sharing agreement in Iraq after eight months of deadlock marks another "milestone" for the country, reports BBC.
Speaking at the G20 summit in Seoul, Mr Obama said the new Iraqi government would be "representative, inclusive and reflect the will of the Iraqi people". On Thursday, incumbent Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki was re-appointed.
But the main Sunni-backed bloc walked out of parliament accusing him of going back on part of the power-sharing deal.
Al-Iraqiyya's leader, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, said Mr Maliki had agreed to reinstate four Sunni politicians who were banned earlier this year for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's now disbanded Baath party.
At a news conference in South Korea on Friday, Mr Obama stressed the need for leaders from all the main blocs to hold posts in a broad-based government, whose leaders treated all Iraqis as equals.
We will support the Iraqi people as they strengthen their democracy, resolve political disputes, resettle those displaced by war and build ties of commerce and co-operation"
"There are still challenges to overcome but all indications are that the government will be representative, inclusive and reflect the will of the Iraq people who cast their ballots in the last election," he said.
"This agreement marks another milestone in the history of modern Iraq, once again showing Iraqis are showing their determination to unify Iraq and build its future and that those impulses are far stronger than those who want Iraq to descend into sectarian war and terror," he added.
"In going forward, we will support the Iraqi people as they strengthen their democracy, resolve political disputes, resettle those displaced by war and build ties of commerce and co-operation with the United States, the region and the world."
The US military, which currently has fewer than 50,000 soldiers in Iraq, is due to withdraw all of its forces from the country by the end of 2011.