Hamdoun, the Sunni leader, said his group did not consider themselves bound by an agreements worked out between the Shiites and Kurds. He said the Sunni Arabs were under "Iraqi and non-Iraqi pressure" but "we are not affected by pressure."
That strategy could backfire, however, in the Oct. 15 referendum when voters will be asked to ratify the constitution. According to the country's interim charter, the constitution will be void if it is rejected by two-thirds of voters in three of the 18 provinces. Sunni Arabs are a majority in four.
The US considers the charter a key part of the process to curb a Sunni-dominated insurgency. In his weekly radio address, US President George W. Bush said that the Iraqi constitution "is a critical step on the path to Iraqi self-reliance."
Talabani told reporters that negotiations were concentrating on the federalism question and the role of Islam in the government.
"We have gone forward," Talabani said Saturday. "There is a meeting today and another meeting tomorrow and God willing we will finish the job tomorrow."
Negotiations were thrown into a tailspin Thursday when the leader of the biggest Shiite party, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, called for a Shiite autonomous government in central and southern Iraq, including the southern oil fields. The demand was immediately rejected by Sunni Arab delegates.
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