The leaders agreed to ease restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to help them join government ministries, to hold provincial elections -- a key demand of Washington -- and help security forces in stopping the bloodshed, President Jalal Talabani's office said.

The latest effort to pull Iraq from the political crisis comes amid intense pressure from American leaders and two weeks before top US officials in Iraq -- ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, head of the coalition forces -- present their much-awaited report on Iraq to the US Congress.

Embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite; Talabani, a Kurd; Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi; Shiite Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi; and Massud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, made a rare television appearance after Talabani's office released the statement.

"After a series of meetings by political leaders in the circumstances that our country is passing through, they have decided to make serious efforts to find solutions to overcome the political and security crisis in Iraq," the statement said.

It said the five leaders agreed to accept the Reconciliation and Accountability Law "to guarantee justice and transparency to all." - DDNEWS