[JURIST] US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad [official profile] has started new negotiations with Shiites and Kurds in a last-ditch attempt to achieve a political compromise on the provisions of the draft Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive] creating a federal structure for the country. Humam Hammoudi, the Shiite head of the country's constitutional drafting commitee, said American representatives had met with northern Kurds to discuss a set of Sunni proposals. Arabic News has more. Distribution of 5 million copies of the draft constitution has been delayed while talks are ongoing [RIA Novosti report]. Meanwhile leaders of Iraq's Kurdish Alliance [Wikipedia backgrounder], including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, have accused Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari of "violating the laws" by breaking promises on Kurdish resettlement around Kirkuk and not consulting with the Kurds on key issues. Kurdish representatives said Saturday they would consider pulling out of the coalition government if their demands remain unmet. Aljazeera has more.