The United States said on Tuesday that it encourages Iraq to hold security talks with Iran and Syria after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced plans to organize a regional conference on fighting terrorism.

"We have never said that the Iraqis should not deal with their neighbors; to the contrary, we've said that it is a natural thing, and we certainly would expect them to do so," White House spokesman Tony Snow said at a briefing.

"The Iraqi government has talked about trying to make sure that outside players are not trying to destabilize the Iraqi democracy. Security of Iraq is a keen concern within the region, and so this is a positive sort of step," Snow said.

"It's a good idea for the Iraqis to be involved in working with their neighbors on issues of regional security," Snow added.

Snow made the remarks after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Tuesday that a national reconciliation conference will be held this month with all political parties' participation.

The situation of Iraq has been in chaos and U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to make changes to his Iraq strategy after hearing a report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua