The head of a Sunni-backed political party will join the Shiite-led government being assembled by his top rival, according to a spokeswoman, clearing a final hurdle to end months of tortuous, post-election deal-making.
The breakthrough on Tuesday cements what the Obama administration has been pushing for as U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, an inclusive government that distributes power among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds to forge stability after more than seven years of war.
As part of the deal, Ayad Allawi will join Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government as head of a newly created council to oversee security and foreign policy issues. The two rivals will make the same annual salary, believed to be at least $360,000.
Parliament still must decide how much power to give the new council.
Mr. Allawi, a former premier, had held out for months, insisting that he or one of his allies should be the next prime minister since his secular Iraqiya party narrowly won more seats than any other alliance in the March parliamentary election. He had long said he would refuse to join a government led by al-Maliki, a Shiite whom many Sunni Muslims view with suspicion.
But after what appeared to be a warm 90-minute meeting between the two on Tuesday, Iraqiya spokeswoman said Maysoun al-Damlouji said Mr. Allawi expected to have broad powers as head of the National Council for Strategic Policies. The 20-member body will serve as a counterbalance to Mr. al-Maliki’s major security and foreign policy decisions.
The detente came after intense lobbying by Vice-President Joe Biden and two U.S. ambassadors. It was one of the last major hurdles Iraq’s leaders wanted to clear before announcing the nation’s new leaders within a constitutionally required negotiation period that ends on December 25.
Aides said Mr. al-Maliki is now expected to formally announce the new government on December 23. Parliament must then approve the Cabinet.
Mr. Allawi did not confirm that he had accepted a post in Mr. al-Maliki’s Cabinet when briefing reporters after the discussion, which he described as “a positive fruitful meeting” where strategic affairs and Iraq’s security were the top topics.
“We reached a joint vision,” Mr. Allawi said of his former rival. “Each of us has an experience that complements the other.”
Mr. Al-Maliki said the meeting focused on building a strong Iraq.
“There are great challenges and we have the ability to confront all these challenges,” he said.
Under the deal, 80 percent of the new council must approve the policies it will oversee, according to a second Allawi aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to explain the sensitive negotiations. Parliament will meet on Saturday to discuss the creation of the new council and its powers.
Last month, Mr. Allawi told CNN that he would not take part in al-Maliki’s government and described the power-sharing deal as dead. His comments came after Mr. al-Maliki cobbled together enough support from Shiite allies, including Iranian—influenced religious hard—liners, to remain as prime minister even though his party fell short of winning the March 7 vote.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner cautiously applauded the breakthrough in an ever-fluid political atmosphere where past deals have broken apart.
“This appears to be a positive development,” Mr. Toner said. “We welcome the Iraqiya statement on Ayad Allawi’s willingness to join the coalition government, but clearly the process is ongoing. Our objective remains the same, to see a credible Iraqi-led process that results in a government that reflects the results of the election.”
The election’s failure to yield a clear winner threw Iraq into political chaos and stoked Sunni insurgents’ hopes that they could use violence to return the country to the brink of civil war. With a wary eye on the planned departure of American troops at the end of 2011, U.S. officials since have been pushing Iraqi leaders to broker a compromise and form an all-inclusive government.
By all accounts, the back-room negotiating has been a politically painful and laborious process, with tensions between Mr. Allawi and Mr. al-Maliki so sour that a fellow lawmaker was taken aback by the warmth of Tuesday’s meeting.
“I was happy and surprised at the harmony and the understanding in the meeting,” said Shiite lawmaker and former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who attended the discussion.
The political breakthrough came amid reminders of the violence that continues to beset Iraq. Roadside bombs struck crowds of Iraqi pilgrims as they prepared to mark the year’s most solemn Shiite religious ceremony, killing three people and wounding at least 31, police said.
Shiite pilgrims from across Iraq are headed to Karbala for Ashoura, which marks the anniversary of the seventh century death of Imam Hussein in a killing that sealed Islam’s historic Sunni-Shiite split. Karbala is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad. Sunni insurgents in Iraq have frequently targeted Shiite shrines and pilgrims.
Separately, a roadside bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed one passer-by and wounded two others, city police and hospital officials said. The explosion was not related to the religious pilgrimage.
