Washington - The United States and Iraq are still working on a deal outlining the legal basis for keeping US troops in Iraq after a UN mandate expires at the end of this year, the US State Department said Wednesday.

"Nothing is done until everything is done. Everything isn't done," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "The Iraqis are still talking among themselves. We are still talking to the Iraqis."

McCormack refused to shed light on the negotiations or the issues that stand in the way of reaching a final deal on a so-called Status of Forces Agreement, which the United States arranges with countries that host the US military.

The Bush administration had sought a deal before the end of July on a bilateral agreement with Iraq to replace the UN mandates enacted after the 2003 invasion. A failure to reach a deal could force Washington and Baghdad to once again request a mandate from the Security Council.

US and Iraqi negotiators have encountered sticking points over how long the US military can hold prisoners without charging them, informing the Iraqi government in advance of operations, and whether US soldiers should be subject to US or Iraqi criminal law.

Any deal would reportedly require the US military to withdraw from Iraqi by 2011.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met with President Jalal Talabani and vice-presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil Abdel Mahdi on Wednesday to discuss a draft of a security agreement, Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman of the Iraqi government said in Baghdad.

Al-Maliki has promised the agreement will be subject to parliamentary approval even as there is strong opposition from some lawmakers.

The Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, has said he will pull US forces from Iraq by the middle of 2010, while his Republican opponent, John McCain, opposes any firm timetables. (dpa)