The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, have urged Iraq's leaders to speed up negotiations on a new government.
Ms Rice and Mr Straw flew into the Iraqi capital this morning, in an unscheduled visit. Ms Rice had spent the previous two days visiting the northwest of England.
The talks are being held in an effort to break the deadlock which has so far prevented the formation of a new Iraqi government.
Meanwhile, the US Republican Senator John McCain has said US troops would leave Iraq when the Iraqi military are capable of taking over their security responsibilities and the government is functioning.
Speaking earlier on RTÉ Radio's This Week, US Republican Senator John McCain said the next six months will be crucial for the people of Iraq.
Senator McCain said that it has been over three months since the national election in Iraq and that people are growing frustrated.
He said that when the Iraqi military are capable of taking over their security responsibilities and when the country's government is functioning, US troops will leave Iraq.
There is growing pressure on the Iraqi Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, to step down.
Some members of his own party, the ruling Shia Alliance, have called for his departure.
