(VOVworld) – The United Nations and the US on Friday hailed Nuri al-Maliki’s decision to end his bid for a third term as Iraqi Prime Minister, considering it a breakthrough in facilitating the process of establishing a new government in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Washington backed Nuri al-Maliki’s decision to support the deputy speaker of parliament, Haider al-Abadi, who was nominated as Iraqi Prime Minister to form a new government.

Earlier, speaking on national TV following a meeting with Mr. Haider al-Abadi, Al-Maliki said he would not run for the third term as Prime Minister and showed support for Abadi in an effort to stop further bloodshed in Iraq. The decision was made as gunmen of the Islamic State have taken control of a number of major cities in Iraq and are heading to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in the North of Iraq.