US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have met with Iraq's political leaders for talks during an unannounced visit to Baghdad.
The visit comes amid growing pressure on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to step aside as the Shia nominee for a second term to break the stalemate in talks on forming a new government.
Mr Straw said the choice of leaders is up to Iraqis alone, but neither he nor Rice disguised the blunt nature of their mission.
"There is significant international concern about the time the formation of this government is taking, and therefore we believe and we will be urging the Iraqi leaders we see to press ahead more quickly," Straw said.
"We've wanted to be out there at times that we thought we could help move the process forward," Rice said. "And of course it's important to have fresh messages from time to time from Washington and from London about the concern that a government be formed.
Rice and Straw were meeting with President Jalal Talabani. Meetings were also planned with the vice president, Abd al-Mahdi, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and other leaders.
Talks among Shia, Sunni and Kurdish leaders have stalled, in part because of opposition to al-Jaafari's nomination by the Shia bloc. Yesterday, Shia politician Qassim Dawoud joined Sunnis and Kurds in calling for a new Shia nominee, the first time a Shia figure has issued such a public call.
Rice and Straw, who had been in northern England, arrived during a driving rain and thunderstorm at a time when US officials here have been expressing increasing impatience with the slow pace of government talks following the Dec. 15 elections.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has urged the Iraqis to speed up the process to prevent the country from sliding into civil war.
US officials believe the formation of a government of national unity would be a major step toward calming the insurgency and restoring order three years after the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. That would enable the US and its coalition partners to begin withdrawing troops.
But talks among Iraqi political leaders have bogged down, prompting Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians to call for al-Jaafari's replacement.