WASHINGTON, D.C. ? President Bush expressed concern Thursday that some of Iraq’s neighbors might be working against the fledgling Iraqi government.

“We, of course, are concerned that some in the neighborhood may want to derail the progress of a free Iraq,” Bush said. “And that is troubling and something that we’ll work on.”

The president spoke after meeting in the Oval Office with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, who gave him an update on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s first trip in office to visit his Persian Gulf neighbors.

The United States pushed for al-Maliki’s trip to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. While al-Maliki received red-carpet welcomes, the leaders privately made clear they will help the Iraqi government only if he does more to reach out to Iraqi Sunnis. The Gulf nations are dominated by Sunni governments leery of Shiite and Kurdish dominance of Iraq.