BAGHDAD: Iraqi leaders have shelved talks about signing a formal agreement to allow more than 100,000 US soldiers to remain in Iraq after the planned restoration of Iraqi sovereignty at the end of June.

Under a proposal agreed to in November, members of the US- appointed Governing Council were supposed to complete a "status- of-forces agreement" with the US military by the end of next month.

Now, council members have decided to put off negotiations until at least summer, after a transitional assembly has been installed and the United States has handed over sovereignty to Iraqis.

In large part, the status-of-forces agreement would be formality; US and Iraqi leaders say the presence of US forces can be justified past June 30 under an existing UN resolution that allows for a multinational force in Iraq. The two sides also agree that Iraqi security forces are not yet prepared to maintain peace and stability without help from the US or other international forces.

Still, the delay is another example of how the Nov 15 plan under which the United States and the council agreed to end the US-led civil occupation is unravelling. The plan also foresaw using caucuses to select the transitional assembly - an idea that now appears dead.

"When we started to look at the (status of forces) issue, it became clear that whatever we negotiate now would have to be ratified by the next transitional council," said Governing Council member Samir Shaker Mahmoud, who is leading a committee in charge of reaching an agreement. "We said, 'Wait a minute. Why do this twice?'"

Mahmoud also noted that the council has been distracted in recent weeks by debate over when to hold elections and what protections should be included in a draft bill of rights now being written. "It's one less thing to do," he said.

Coalition officials could not be reached for comment. But Mahmoud said L. Paul Bremer III, the US civilian administrator of Iraq, approved of the delay, and in recent weeks, other US officials have warned that the deadline on the status-of-forces agreement might slip.

"The UN resolution actually I think covers a portion of this and our circumstance at the present time works for us," Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said this month.

While a status-of-forces agreement may largely be a formality, such a document is critical to spelling out the rights and protections accorded US soldiers.

Among other things, the agreement is expected to define the circumstances under which US soldiers may use force and whether they are subject to Iraqi law in cases of property damage or accidental death of civilians.

Meanwhile, the council is to resume talks Monday about the latest draft of a transitional law that would govern the nation until a new constitution is written.

The formal deadline for the transitional law is Feb 28, but that may slip, particularly since there is still no agreement over how to select a transitional assembly.

Council members said they have made progress on the law, but must still work out some key issues. Kurds, for example, are pushing for greater autonomy, including the right to control their own armed forces, taxation systems, and natural resources - including oil - in their northern zone.

"We want the right to make Kurdish laws in our own region," said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish council member. "We have seen centralization in Iraq before, and it always leads to dictatorship." -Dawn/The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Los Angeles Times.