BAGHDAD, Iraq — Prime Minister Tony Blair flew into Baghdad today to lend his support to Iraq's new leadership as it begins trying to restore security and stem the slide toward civil war.

Blair arrived by helicopter in the fortified Green Zone for a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki. The two were expected to hold a joint news conference later today.

Blair, the first world leader to visit Iraq since its new government was inaugurated Saturday, said last weekend that coalition soldiers hope to transfer their duties to Iraqis as soon as possible, but that British troops would remain here for as long as they are needed.

But Blair, whose country about 8,000 service members in Iraq, also said that al-Maliki has told the coalition that he wants to see Iraq in control of its own destiny.

Like President Bush, who has a 132,000-strong military contingent in Iraq, Blair has seen his public support fall at home because of opposition to the Iraq war.