Baghdad, June 25 (RHC)-- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has rejected U.S. and other foreign calls for a more inclusive government as a "coup." Maliki spoke earlier today following the departure of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who had visited Baghdad and the northern Kurdish region to press for a reconciliation agreement between Iraqi leaers.

The Barack Obama administration has apparently conditioned U.S. strikes against Sunni militants on a more inclusive central Iraqi government. But Maliki issued what appeared to be a strong rebuke, saying: "The call for the formation of a national salvation government is a coup against the constitution and the political process."