Iraq Talks Stall Over Islam, Oil; Kurds Could Drop Demand for Right to Sec

[steve2470]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB4AL1RLCE.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Talks on Iraq's new constitution have stalled over the role of Islam and the distribution of the country's oil wealth, negotiators said Saturday. The leadership of the country's Kurdish minority said it may drop its contentious demand for the right to secede.

Iraqis have until Monday night to complete work on the draft - otherwise parliament must dissolve. The United States is putting intense pressure on negotiators to finish the charter, which Washington hopes will in time take the steam out of the insurgency.

Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, said all parties were showing flexibility in order to finish drafting the constitution.

"As for the self-determination for the Kurds, this issue did not enjoy the support of Sunnis or Shiites, and we almost gave up this demand," Bakhtiyar said.

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