WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (AFP) - The United States on Tuesday downplayed comments by Jordan's King Abdullah II, a key US ally in the Middle East, that legitimate elections in Iraq by January would be impossible due to the current state of insecurity.
The State Department said neither Washington nor the interim Iraqi government had altered their belief that credible polls can and will be held in all parts of the country on that timeline and stressed that stabilization efforts were be enhanced to ensure the safety of voters and election workers.
"We have not changed our view, nor has the Iraqi government changed its determination, to have these elections on time in January and throughout the country," spokesman Richard Boucher said. "That is what we are supporting and that is what we are going to be moving forward on."
His comments came in response to questions about King Abdullah's pessimistic remarks on the election that were published on Tuesday in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro which were seen as a sign of mounting scepticism in the region on the viability of the polls.
"It appears to me impossible to organize indisputable elections in the chaos currently reigning in Iraq," the monarch told the paper.
Boucher said he had not seen the king's comments but took issue with the suggestion that the United States and Iraqi authorities would allow the current instability to continue, noting that an active campaign to stamp out unrest and insurgents was now underway.
"The election will not be held given current circumstances," he said. "Part of the strategy is to create a different set of circumstances so that elections can be held throughout the country without too much problem."