Power-sharing talks between Iraqi politicians are called off

Power-sharing talks between Iraqi politicians are called off Negotiations between Iraq's two most powerful political blocs broke down Monday, dashing hopes that a solution to a more than red five-month impasse after national elections was on the horizon.

The Sunni-and-secular-backed Iraqiya coalition of former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi called off talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-backed State of Law alliance after the Shiite incumbent called them a "Sunni" group in an interview.

The move by Allawi's group further isolates Maliki, who is intent on staying in power. This month a coalition of Shiite groups also halted talks with Maliki's group.

The decision to stop negotiations comes just two weeks before U.S. forces will shrink to 50,000 troops. As the U.S. military discusses the "end" of the Iraq war, the nation's future is unclear. There is still no government, government office functions are lagging and hundreds are dying in attacks each month.

"We think they are not serious in their negotiations with us or with other groups to form a national unity government," said Falah al Naqib, an Iraqiya legislator. "While it's true we represent many Sunnis, it doesn't mean we're not a national group. They want to bring Iraq back to a sectarian problem."