Kerry in Kurdistan to urge leaders to be part of national government

Credit: Reuters/Brendan Smialowski/Pool

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a news conference at the U.S. embassy in the International Zone in Baghdad June 23, 2014.

'The Secretary's visit will be very important both to confer with the Kurdish leadership and also encourage them to play a very active role in this government formation process, including choosing a very strong president who can represent both Kurdish interests but also Iraqi interests,' said a senior U.S. State Department official who briefed reporters.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz)