Arbil:  Two political leaders who put Iraq's prime minister in power have met to discuss if they should withdraw their support, now that a bitter sectarian political deadlock has even led to calls for secession.

Hardline anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr flew to Iraq's northern Kurdish region, in what was billed as a historic visit, to meet with its president over how to end the months-long political impasse.

The mini-summit underlined the explosiveness of Iraq in the wake of the US military pullout in Dec-ember, marked by bloody attacks and the political stalemate, both sectarian in nature.

Speaking to reporters at the airport in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, Al Sadr pointedly avoided blaming Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki personally for letting the Shiite-led government sideline Kurds and Sunnis, as his critics accuse. But the cleric demanded inclusiveness in Iraq's politics, because "divisiveness is not good for the people".

Exclusion

"I have said it many times: the policy of exclusion and the policy of marginalisation must end in Iraq," Al Sadr said. "All Iraqis should live under one roof and for one goal."

Asked if he would try to broker a new political coalition among Al Maliki's opponents, and try to push the prime minister from power, Al Sadr answered: "I will answer later."

Spokesmen for Al Maliki and the central government in Baghdad could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kurdish President Masoud Barzani met Al Sadr at the airport, where a red carpet was rolled onto the runway for his first trip to the Kurdish region. The Kurdish president did not join Al Sadr in talking to reporters. The two were due to sit down for extended talks on Thursday night.

Al Maliki cobbled together a political coalition after the 2010 parliamentary elections with Barzani's and Al Sadr's followers winning the right to head the government.

Year of bitterness

But he failed to set up a policy committee that Sunnis demanded to serve as a check on the Shiite government, commencing more than a year of bitterness and accusations. Barzani and others charge that Al Maliki is becoming a dictator.

Sunni insurgent groups have responded to their perceived sidelining with deadly attacks against Shiites and government officials. On Thursday, bombings in two of Baghdad's largest Shiite neighbourhoods killed five people and wounded 31. Police and medics confirmed the casualties but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information.

Al Sadr's visit comes the day after Barzani said in an interview that he would give the government until September to break the political logjam.

After that, Barzani said, he could consider letting Kurds vote to secede from Iraq and turn their self-rule region into a fully independent state, as many want.

Al Sadr said he had a similar political discussion with Al Maliki earlier last week, when the two men were in Tehran. He did not disclose details of the talks.

18-point plan

On Thursday, Moqtada Al Sadr offered an 18-point plan to solve the Iraq crisis, mostly through dialogue and political inclusiveness. The plan calls for having good relations with neighbouring nations, but to not let them meddle in Iraq's affairs. That appeared to be a reference to Iran, which is close to Nouri Al Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.

In a nod to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Al Sadr said Iraq's oil must be used for the benefit of Iraq's people, "and no individual has the right to control it without participation from others".

Oil feud

Oil disputes — specifically Baghdad's blacklisting of ExxonMobil from bidding on new projects as punishment for plans to work in the Iraqi Kurdish region — have been at the heart of recent feuding between Al Maliki and Barzani.

Al Sadr's growing strength in Iraqi politics has unsettled US officials, who have been offering advice on how to bolster the shaky government since the 2003 invasion — and since the final departure of American troops last December. Al Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, ran death squads against Sunnis in the worst years of the war, and targeted US troops.