NEW YORK — US President Joe Biden met Tuesday with Iraqi President Barham Saleh on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, during which they discussed "strengthening the bilateral relationship and deepening cooperation on regional diplomatic initiatives".

The White House said in a statement that Biden stressed the US commitment to Iraq's "long-term stability."

It added that the leaders reaffirmed their "respect for Iraq's democracy, rule of law, and efforts to hold credible and transparent elections this October."

Biden lauded "recent initiatives such as the Baghdad Regional Summit and the historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq earlier this year as an important symbol of Iraq's contributions to regional stability and interfaith tolerance".

Biden had congratulated the government of Iraq on hosting "a successful and ground-breaking regional summit."

He, in a statement, said: I congratulate the government of Iraq on hosting a successful and ground-breaking regional summit.

"This kind of diplomacy has never been more important as we seek to ease tensions among neighboring states and expand cooperation across the Middle East, and Iraq's leadership on this is historic," he had commented.

He had said then that the US "continues to stand with our partner Iraq as we work together toward greater stability across the Middle East."

"We remain committed to strengthening our bilateral relationship under the Strategic Framework Agreement," he affirmed. "Diplomacy must be the first tool of our foreign policy, and we are grateful to have partners who share that vision." — Agencies