BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that he believes there's a "greater sense of urgency" among Iraqis to generate progress on all fronts in the war-wracked nation.

Cheney, in Iraq on an unannounced visit, appeared before reporters with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top-ranking U.S. military official in Iraq.

The vice president was asked about one contentious issue: parliament's plans to take a two-month summer recess amid a host of unresolved issues, including oil revenue legislation, de-Baathification and constitutional reform. U.S. officials have said that hiatus would be unwise.

But Cheney declined to reveal what he said to Iraqi officials on the matter. He said he referred to the issue in general terms, saying only that he couldn't predict whether parliament would recess, and it's important to take up any matter in a "timely fashion."