Obama Welcomes Progress in Forming Iraq Government

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes the progress Iraq has made in forming a new "inclusive" government, the White House said on Thursday.

"The president is encouraged by the substantial progress that has been made in forging an inclusive government that represents the Iraqi people and the results of this year's election," the White House said in a statement.

The White House said Obama spoke to several Iraqi leaders in recent days and stressed that all winning blocs in the Iraqi election be represented in the new leadership. (Writing by JoAnne Allen, editing by Stacey Joyce)