Kerry stresses urgency of Iraq power-sharing

US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Iraq’s top Shi’ite leaders to give more government power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes of lasting peace.

The closed-door meeting in Baghdad between Mr Kerry and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was not expected to have been friendly, given that officials in Washington had floated suggestions that the premier should resign as a necessary first step towards quelling the vicious uprising.

Nor is it likely to bring any immediate, tangible results, as Mr al-Maliki has shown no sign of leaving and Iraqi officials have long listened to — but ultimately ignored — US advice to avoid appearing controlled by the decade-old spectre of an American occupation in Baghdad.